97 Points Tasting Panel
This distinctively fresh wine emits a creamy flow of spiced pomegranate, red tea, and vanilla-coated cherry. Melding with white pepper and hyacinth, focused acidity carries the palate to a high-energy finish.
95 Points Decanter
From C.C. Ranch in Rutherford, perched on a west-facing knoll of volcanic bedrock, this wine was aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 55% of which were new. In 2023, it is gorgeously perfumed, opening with sweet red and black cherry fruit. The palate is super lush yet composed, showing silky, satiny fruit and a progression toward brighter, red-fruited tones, layered with sweet Asian spice. Very fine-grained tannins give shape and polish, leading to a cocoa-nib and crushed sea-salt finish. Deeply satisfying and harmonious, it delivers balanced richness without excess.
94 Points Wine Spectator
Broad, dense and slow-moving, this broad-shouldered version is textbook Rutherford, with a dark well of cassis and plum reduction flavors flanked by singed cedar and a finish that lets a sanguine curl and ping of iron slowly emerge. Best from 2028 through 2040.
94 Points Wine Enthusiast
Toasty spices, dark cocoa, and violets mingle with blackberry and cherry on the nose of this wine. The palate gives rich, weighty tannin and flavors of black plum, spiced berry coulis, cinnamon, espresso, and grilled bread along a grippy and luscious finish.
94 Points James Suckling
Luscious red currants, potpourri, mulberries, blackberries and spices. The palate is juicy and refined, with a textured mouthfeel and firm tannins leading to a mouthwatering, polished finish. An approachable, floral cabernet.
