2018 Wine

Looking considerably more roasted in style than the 2019, the 2018 Crozes Hermitage la Guiraude features notes of grilled dark-skinned plums and savory black olives. It's full-bodied, rich and velvety, but with its layers... Read More

Renzo Cotarella, managing director of Marchesi Antinori tells me that the 2018 vintage showed very different results in the inland and hilly Chianti Classico appellation compared to the flat, sea-facing Bolgheri appellation. This... Read More

The 2018 Chardonnay Trout Gulch Vineyard is clean and bright on the nose with aromas of crushed shell, white blossoms, hay and Bosc pear. The light-bodied palate follows in the same style, with crisp, mineral-driven character... Read More

The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon has been our flagship wine for more than three decades. It is a benchmark for the long-lived hillside wines of the Napa Valley; full of structure and aging potential, yet seductively forward in... Read More

​The Chappellet family’s romance with Pritchard Hill started more than four decades ago when Donn and Molly Chappellet first glimpsed its magnificent hills and view of Lake Hennessy. Anyone who has visited the estate can... Read More

This has the vintage's profile, with a sleek and slightly austere frame holding a core of cassis, bitter cherry and raspberry coulis notes tightly together while flashes of bay, dried anise and savory add range and detail.... Read More

Tasted as a sample blended from several foudres, the 2018 Cotes du Rhone Coudoulet de Beaucastel features scents of sun-warmed stones and ripe raspberries. Medium to full-bodied, it's plush and open-knit, already giving a... Read More

A bright savory note leads off this red, followed quickly by sanguine and bay leaf accents, all melding nicely with the core of steeped blackberry, raspberry and plum fruit flavors as they move through the rich, licorice root–tinged... Read More

In the heart of the appellation Gigondas, the Château de Saint Cosme is an exceptional estate, with its Gallo-Roman fermentation vats perfectly preserved. The property has been in our family since 1490 and we have been vignerons... Read More

From a single parcel of old-vine Grenache, the 2018 Gigondas le Claux matured in a mix of new, one- and two-year-old barrels. Full-bodied, rich and expansive, it combines notes of black cherries, roses, black tea and asphalt with... Read More

In the heart of the appellation Gigondas, the Château de Saint Cosme is an exceptional estate, with its Gallo-Roman fermentation vats perfectly preserved. The property has been in our family since 1490 and we have been vignerons... Read More

The 2018 Pichon-Longueville Baron is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot, aged for 18 months in barriques, 80% new and 20% one year old. Production of the grand vin represents 50% of the harvest this year. Deep garnet-purple... Read More

I think the 2018 Clos de Los Siete is the finest vintage of this blend that I've tasted so far. In this cooler year, it's a blend of 55% Malbec, 19% Merlot, 12% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% each Petit Verdot and... Read More

Cathy Corison's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon remains true to her own stylistic bent, weighing in at 13.8%. Hints of tobacco and crushed stone accent cassis, with minimal wood influence on the nose, despite it being aged 20 months... Read More

Detert's 2018 Cabernet Franc is fabulous. It may very well be the single most expressive and distinctive Cabernet Franc in the valley. Deep and inky in the glass, the Detert Franc is marked by soaring aromatics and beams of... Read More

Saturated ruby. Smoke- and spice-accented cherry and dark berry scents are complicated by hints of candied flowers and licorice. Supple and broad in the mouth, offering pliant blackberry and bitter cherry flavors that become sweeter... Read More

Harvested on September 1 and vinified with some 40% whole cluster, the 2018 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots bursts with lavish aromas of creamy berry fruit, candied peel, plums and spices. On the palate, it's medium... Read More

The 2018 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Damodes has turned out nicely, opening in the glass with notes of smoky berry fruit, sweet soil tones and a deft application of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, lively and fine-boned, its... Read More

At the risk of not being literal enough, tasting Isabel Ferrando's 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Colombis is like drinking purple flowers. Deep rose and violet notes are seamlessly joined to purple raspberries in a full-bodied... Read More

More reserved than the Charmes and Latricières, the 2018 Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru opens in the glass with a brooding bouquet of cassis, wild berries, smoked meats, rich soil tones, licorice and caramelized orange. On... Read More

A barrel sample of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Kathryn Hall is opaque purple-black colored with a beautiful perfume of bold black currants, Black Forest cake and aniseed with candied violets,... Read More