94 Wine Spectator

This is intense, offering mentholated cherry, plum, earth, iron and tar flavors. There’s a brooding feel to this red, with a line of thick tannins guarding the finish. Best from 2029 through 2047. 275 cases made, 83 cases imported.

97 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2016 Santa Croce is the estate's blend of equal parts Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon that spent close to eight years in cask during a time when proprietor Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa was ill and some lots sat undisturbed in cellar for extended periods. Dark red fruit, rose petal, spice and menthol build in the glass. Most suprisingly, the 2016 is shockingly fresh for a wine of its age. This is a great, great wine. It's not Sangiovese, it's not Cabernet Sauvignon, it's not a blend. It’s simply Castell'in Villa at its most profound. (AG)

93 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Beautiful dark-fruit aromas and flavors on a sleek texture of fine-grained tannins. Red and black cherries, iron, earth and cocoa flavors. It increases its grip on the palate and finish, forming a firm, dry mouthfeel that will benefit from more time in the bottle. Drink or hold.

96 Richard Baudains - Decanter Magazine

A blast of sour berries, candied peel, undergrowth and freshly cut herb aromas. No less exuberant on the palate, this is a big, dry, gritty, concentrated mouthful which bursts with energy in all directions. Objectively, it needs a little bottle time to come together, but in the meantime it is a wonderful celebration of a traditional style from one of Montalcino’s longest established estates.

92 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Yellow apple, hard pineapple and crisp acidity provide an energetic and textural context for stone fruit and sumac. A kiss of sweet spice is threaded throughout, as is a filigree of minerality. Drink now.

91 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

Melon, stone fruits, brioche, and honeyed flower notes all shine in the 2023 Chardonnay, a medium-bodied, juicy, lively Chardonnay that has integrated acidity and a supple, hard-to-resist style. It's a terrific value. Drink bottles over the coming 3-5 years. Drink 2025-2030.

91 Billy Norris - Vinous Media

The 2023 Chardonnay is delicious. Bright and lifted, it's a wine of notable energy and cut, with excellent delineation of flavors. Ripe tropical fruit, spice and chalk meld together in this characterful Chardonnay.

92 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

A fantastic balance of very zesty acidity and juicy fruit. I love the interplay of citrusy freshness and apples on the light-bodied palate. Elegant finish. From organically grown grapes with Fair'n Green certification. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

94 Eric Guido - Vinous Media

The 2023 Chardonnay Phoebe is dusty and floral, with nuances of ginger and lime-tinged green apples forming its bouquet. Round textures and juicy acidity soothe as ripe pit fruits and a twang of candied citrus excite the senses. Flinty mineral tones linger as the 2023 tapers off wickedly fresh and floral, leaving a sensation of liquid stone.

95 Luis Gutierrez - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2021 A Merced is surprisingly a little higher in alcohol than the 2020 I tasted next to it, despite the much cooler year. It fermented with 50% foot-trodden whole clusters in 1,000-liter oak casks with indigenous yeasts and a long maceration. It matured in used 225-liter French oak barrels for one year. It's a little earthy but also floral and elegant, combining that wild side that seems to be inherent to this place, as I've noticed it in the last few vintages. It's quite expressive and showy, very complete and balanced. 10,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2022.

92 Luis Gutierrez - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The textbook traditional red 2019 Señorío de P. Peciña Crianza was produced with their classical blend of Tempranillo with small percentages of Garnacha and Graciano. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in used American oak barrels following the most orthodox tradition, for two years, a lot longer than required to obtain the category. It has spicy notes, a hint of cigar box and forest floor and is a powerful and ripe year, when the wine achieved 14.36% alcohol and good freshness and acidity. It has a medium to full-bodied palate with a chalky mouthfeel, fine tannins and a slightly dusty and rustic touch that would welcome food. It was bottled in May 2022.

95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

Medium garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon needs a little coaxing to bring out pretty notes of kirsch, redcurrant jelly, and juicy blackberries plus hints of rose oil, cinnamon stick, and underbrush. The medium to full-bodied palate is bright and cheery, with red and black berry layers framed by a chewy texture and refreshing line, finishing long and earthy. Nice!

94 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the wines of this very challenging harvest. Dark and imposing, the 2020 is packed with black fruit, cloves, leather, menthol, chocolate and dried herbs. This is an especially dense, potent Cabernet. There is some aggressiveness to the tannins, but that is the vintage. Overall, this is impeccably done, especially within the context of the year.

94 J. D'Angelo - International Wine Report

The 2020 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon presents a deep and expressive nose, featuring a blend of ripe blackberries, boysenberries, and black cherries, accented by fragrant notes of dried savory herbs, anise, exotic spices, cocoa powder and a touch of dusty nuances all coming together beautifully to add wonderful complexity to the aromatics. On the palate, this wine is full-bodied, dense, and structured with muscular tannins, that provide plenty of backbone to support the fruit. Layers of dark fruits, tobacco and spices are well-integrated, leading to a long finish. This is remarkable showing from Mayacamas in this vintage, and should be provide immediate drinking pleasure, but also thrive in the cellar for over a decade.

97 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

A bright, nervy wine, the 2021 Pinot Noir Radian captures all the natural intensity of this site on the far edge of the Sta. Rita Hills. Bright acids and veins of minerality infuse the 2021 with tremendous character. Dark red/purplish fruit, lavender, crushed rocks, graphite and dried herbs are some of the many notes that race across the palate. This just sizzles with energy. It's a great example from the western edge of the appellation

97 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

I loved the 2021 Pinot Noir Radian Vineyard, which has a vivid, perfumed, exotic bouquet of black raspberries, spring flowers, violets, graphite, and chalky minerality. I love its purity, and it's medium-bodied, with an incredible sense of refinement and class and a great finish. Coming from a rocky hillside vineyard on the southern side of the Sta. Rita Hills, this incredible Pinot Noir will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and cruise in cold cellars over the following decade or more

89 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

"The 2022 Langhe Nebbiolo is a pretty dense, heady wine. Kirsch, blood orange, pomegranate and spice fill out the layers. Potent tannins wrap it all together. This is far from an easygoing Langhe Nebbiolo, that much is certain."