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High Highs: Santa Lucia Highlands 2023
United States: California, featured
, Jul 2025
Nestled into a narrow, 18-mile stretch to the south of Monterey Bay, the Santa Lucia Highlands is one of the most consistent and consistently under-the-radar winegrowing regions in the United States. A long, even-tempered growing season in 2023 blessed winemakers with the opportunity to ascend to astonishing heights. And ascend they did.
Paso Robles 2022 and 2023: Polar Opposites
United States: California, featured
, Jun 2025
Paso Robles is carving out its place as a premier wine region, proving its adaptability in the face of recent vintages. While the 2022 growing season presented unique challenges that are reflected in the wines, the exceptionally promising 2023s highlight Paso’s flexibility and diversity.
Roederer Estate L’Ermitage: A Complete Retrospective
United States: California, featured
, Jun 2025
This complete retrospective of Roederer Estate’s L’Ermitage, the first of its kind, was illuminating on so many fronts. Most importantly, it proved that Anderson Valley is exceptionally well suited to the production of fine, world-class sparkling wine. I was also deeply impressed with how well the wines age. I had tasted L’Ermitage from time to time but not on a consistent basis; many of these vintages were new to me. I tasted this vertical with longtime Winemaker Arnaud Weyrich and President Nicole Carter during a visit to the property in January 2025.
Cellar Favorite: 1977 Diamond Creek Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, United States: California, napa
, May 2025
Even in its fourth decade, the 1977 Volcanic Hill shows little ageing in the glass, attesting to what is reputedly Diamond Creek’s longest-lived Cabernet Sauvignon.
Exploring Sonoma’s Moon Mountain District
United States: California, featured
, Feb 2025
Nestled in the Mayacamas Mountains just east of the town of Sonoma, the Moon Mountain District is one of the most exciting emerging appellations in California. These hillside vineyards offer an intriguing mix of the old and the new, a melting pot of historic vineyards, established players and a generation of younger winemakers who are bringing their energy and enthusiasm to these sites.
Updated - Sonoma and Neighbors 2022 & 2023: Opposites Attract
United States: California, featured
, Jan 2025
Updated: July 3, 2025. It’s that time of year. New releases from Sonoma County and neighboring appellations are starting to hit the market. This report covers some of the most exciting wines I tasted on my recent trip to Sonoma. As is our custom, we will post frequent updates to this article in the coming weeks, which we feel is the best way to keep readers current, given the sheer volume of wines released this time of year. Readers can also look forward to a forthcoming report focused on the Moon Mountain AVA, where the wines are quite distinct from those made in the more central regions within Sonoma County.
Updated - Napa Valley’s 2022 & 2023 Cabernet Sauvignons
United States: California, napa, featured
, Dec 2024
Napa Valley is very clearly at an inflection point of tremendous change on many levels. Shifting consumer preferences, vintages with markedly different and at times challenging conditions, and an evolving market are all topics that are front and center in any discussion of Napa Valley today. “May you live in interesting times,” the ancient proverb says. These are definitely interesting times. My annual report covers the bottled 2022 Cabernet Sauvignons and the nascent 2023s from barrel.
Dunn: Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 1985-2014
United States: California, napa, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Dec 2024
I have always been drawn to archetypes. Reference points. Wines that are standard bearers for their variety, appellation and/or style. Perhaps that is a vestige of my musical training, but there is something about classics that has always spoken to me. In Napa Valley, few wines embody those qualities more fully than Dunn’s Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. This tasting provided a fabulous opportunity to revisit a wide range of vintages going all the way back to the 1980s.
Cellar Favorite: 1973 Californian Cabernets
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, United States: California
, Oct 2024
A recent discussion about 1970s California wine on the Vinous forum prompted me to cleave away a couple of tasting notes from my round-up of mature wines.
Santa Cruz Mountains – The Chameleon
United States: California, featured
, Oct 2024
The Santa Cruz Mountains boasts a long and storied past that has given rise to some of the most legendary American wines of all time, but the region’s identity is still coming into focus. Zooming in, the 2022 vintage was quite challenging, with mixed results for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, while the 2021 Cabernets are among the most compelling and characterful in California.