94 Wine Spectator

Jammy and generous, with bold aromatics, this red is a pleasure to drink, offering polished cherry and blackberry tart flavors accented by briar patch and licorice as this zips along the lively finish. Drink now through 2034. 6,000 cases made.

98 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

One of my favorite cuvées from this estate, the 2021 El Alma De Jonata checks in as 80% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Reminding me of a great vintage of Château Figeac, it has a gorgeous perfume of red and black fruits, spring flowers, lead pencil, and smoked tobacco. With medium to full body, gorgeously polished, integrated tannins, and an incredible finish, it already offers pleasure yet will ideally be hidden in the cellar for 4-5 years. It will have 20-25+ years of overall longevity.

96 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2021 El Alma de Jonata is dense and powerful, but also very young. There is some youthful austerity that needs time to soften, and yet all the elements are so well balanced. Dark red/purplish fruit, blood orange, cedar, mint and spice all race throughout this sumptuous, super-expressive Cabernet Franc-based blend. Franc aromatics are especially prominent on the finish. Give this time.

92-94 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

Also terrific, with lots of cassis, jammy blackberries, crushed rocks, and pepper notes, the 2018 Côtes Du Roussillon Villages Latour De France Occultum Lapidem is medium to full-bodied, has wonderful purity of fruit, no hard edges, and a great finish.

93 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

A powerful and ripe Meursault with plenty of Mirabelle plums filling out the generous medium- to full-bodied palate. Attractive interplay of creaminess, fine tannins and freshness. Matured in small oak barrels, of which one third were new. Very limited production. Drink or hold.

90 Wine Enthusiast

Aromas of wet tobacco and mixed cherries carry into the palate. With further sipping they transform into spiced tobacco, cocoa and dark fruits carried by a full body and melting tannins.

93 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2020 Pinot Noir Knox Alexander is a barrel selection of Santa Maria sites, mostly from Bien Nacido, that spent two years in 100% new French oak. This is an especially floral, lifted style with a fair amount of stems and plenty of Santa Maria savoriness. It's an eccentric wine, but all the elements are nicely balanced. Orange peel, mint, star anise and bright acids linger on the delicate yet persistent finish.

97-98 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

The polish, texture, complexity and patina are very impressive and fascinating. So spicy and interesting with so much going on. Medium body with wonderfully integrated tannins that are cut and nicely chiselled already. Lemon and violet. 64% cabernet sauvignon, 32% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.

95-97+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

The 2022 Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, with a yield of 29 hl/ha and aging in 60% new oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a lot of shaking to wake up notes of blackcurrant jelly, redcurrant preserves, boysenberries, and pencil lead, followed by suggestions of lilacs, Sichuan pepper, and cedar chest. The full-bodied palate is built like a skyscraper, delivering mouth-coating black fruits with red berry sparks supported by rock-solid, firm tannins, finishing very long and with a refreshing mineral lift. pH 3.70.

95-97 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2022 Smith Haut Lafitte is a regal, elegant wine. Succulent inky fruit, licorice, spice, lavender and mocha open in a gracious, sublime Grand Vin. Here, too, the wine’s persistence and energy are notable. The Cabernet is especially evident this year, in both the wine’s flavor profile and overall structural feel. In many vintages, the Grand Vin is more immediate and alluring. The 2022 is quite reticent.

97 Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Inky colour, with vivid vibrant edging, curling and fragrant floral aromatics, plenty of energy from the first kick of peony and mandarin peel. The rich density of the blue and black fruits are set against slate and grippy tannins, giving textural contrast which makes it engaging, together with a saline scrape on the finish. Blueberry, cassis, ink, liquorice root, graphite, pink grapefruit, intensely expressed with a vertical rise through the palate, very much true to estate signature. 29hl/h, 3.65ph, 10% whole bunches fermentation, using a mix of full bunches and stalks that they select after destemming. 33% 1st wine, 4% press used in the blend, harvest September 5 to 30. Fabien Teitgen technical director.

94-95 William Kelley - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2022 Smith Haut Lafitte opens in the glass with attractive aromas of cassis, spices, tobacco, graphite and licorice, followed by a medium to full-bodied palate that is deep and layered, with good depth and powdery structuring tannins that assert themselves on the finish. This blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot will require some patience, given its somewhat extracted style.

92 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

"Red berries, cherries, minerals and hibiscus on the nose with a very juicy, medium-bodied palate and fresh veins of tannins. The elegant, medium-long finish is vibrant and full of good pristine fruit. Drink now." - Zekun Shuai

94 Monica Larner - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The Brancaia 2021 Ilatraia is an organic blend of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. I like the restyled front label design presented with this vintage. This is a bold and generous wine with sweet fruit, blackberry preserves, baking spice and hints of pipe tobacco. The Ilatraia hits the palate with power, but the tannins are softly integrated for a full-bodied but velvety close.

94 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2021 Ilatraia, Brancaia's flagship Maremma red, is a fine example of the appellation. Black cherry, plum, espresso, licorice and bittersweet chocolate saturate the palate. This young, vibrant, exotic red needs time to be at its best. Today, it is almost shockingly primary.

92 Erin Brooks - Robert Parker's the Wine Advocate

The 2023 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is composed of fruit from Hartford Court's estate vineyards plus purchased fruit. Matured for nine months in 28% new French oak, it has layered aromas of cranberry, pomegranate, graham cracker, tobacco, tea leaves and forest floor. The full-bodied palate features concentrated, spicy flavors framed by grainy tannins and juicy acidity, and it has a long, flavorful finish. 9,000 cases were made.

99 Decanter

The first 2022 Napa Cabernet I've tasted that avoids the warm, juicy ripeness often associated with the vintage. Instead, it stays true to its character, showcasing beautifully pure black cherry and blue fruit aromatics, with a cooling menthol note and coiled energy. Framed by crisp, crunchy tannins and gorgeous, lacy acidity, leading to an impressively long finish of violets and fragrant bay laurel. Precise and focused. The blend contains 4% each of Petit Verdot and Merlot.