#38: 2020 Domaine A. Clape Cornas

$195, Northern Rhône, France

NG: “The full-bodied 2020 Cornas is a wild, concentrated expression that captures everything Clape enthusiasts love. With a juicy fruit core, meaty undertones and rustic funk, this instant classic boasts remarkably round tannins and a savory, persistent finish.”

The full-bodied 2020 Cornas is a wild thing. Concentrated and expressive, it combines all the elements that Clape-enthusiasts rave about: a juicy core of fruit, ferrous gradations, crushed flowers, meaty undertones, rustic funkiness and an herbal edge. Remarkably round tannins lend solid structure to the delicious 2020, an instant classic that shows excellent persistence on the savory finish.

96 points – Nicolas Greinacher, October 2023

#37: 2021 El Enemigo Cabernet Franc Gran Enemigo Gualtallary

$120, Mendoza, Argentina

JH: “When it debuted, this wine was a game-changer in Argentina. It’s consistently one of the best Cabernet Francs in the world.”

Is it possible to create a wine with structure but without weight? The 2021 Cabernet Franc Gran Enemigo Gualtallary offers a remarkable answer to that apparent paradox, finding the solution in a balanced combination of terroir and careful cellar work. It's almost utopian—a mountain wine with the structure and character of high-altitude vineyards, yet with the agility and freshness of an oceanic red. Purple in hue, it opens with blackberry and plum, layered with mountain herbs, a hint of sour cherry, cassis and floral tones of violet and lavender. Dry and juicy, with a slightly compact feel, the wine glides across the palate with weightless grace, supported by fine, chalky tannins. This wine is a triumph.

98 points – Joaquín Hidalgo, November 2024

#34: 2021 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate Bottled

$75, Santa Cruz Mountains, California, United States                                                                

BN: “Mount Eden's 2021 Pinot Noir Estate Bottled is one of the finest renditions of this wine in recent memory. A product of an absolutely punishing drought season, the 2021 emerged on the other side with a treasure trove of layers and absolute polish. Jeffrey Patterson showed once again that the Santa Cruz Mountains can produce world-class Pinot Noir in the right hands, and at a fraction of the cost of many of its Old World peers, no less.”

The 2021 Pinot Noir Estate Bottled unfolds with a blockbuster bouquet of macerated red cherry, lavender, new leather and clove. Aged in 40% new French oak for ten to eleven months, it’s broad and ample on the palate. Layers of fresh berry fruit, supple tannins and gentle citrus succulence introduce a wine of extreme class and pedigree. The tannins are just so refined, and the delineation of flavors is superb. Vivid, lively, meticulous and calibrated, this is a testament to the heights attainable with Pinot Noir in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

96 points – Billy Norris, September 2024

#33: 2021 Cornell Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

$179, Sonoma, California, United States

AG: “In 2013, after years of modest results, proprietors Henry and Vanessa Cornell completely rebooted their Spring Mountain estate. The Cornells brought in vineyard guru Phil Coturri to redevelop the site and Françoise Peschon to oversee winemaking. The transformation has been nothing short of remarkable. The team led by winemaker Elizabeth Tangney and Peschon, now in a consulting role, turned out a brilliant 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cornell Cabernets offer a superb expression of Spring Mountain and remain very well priced within the context of elite Napa Valley and Sonoma Cabernets.”

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is showing very well for a wine that was bottled just a few months ago. Sweet floral and spice notes open first, conferring notable freshness and vibrancy. Medium in body and beautifully persistent, the 2021 impresses with its finesse more than anything else. Time in the glass brings out hints of red/purplish fruit, rose petal, lavender and spice. The Cornell Cabernet Sauvignon usually needs a few years to blossom post bottling, as I once again saw with the 2018 that I opened at home recently. I expect that will be the case here as well. In a word: regal.

97+ points – Antonio Galloni, December 2023

#31: 2019 Le Potazzine Brunello di Montalcino

$100, Tuscany, Italy

EG: “The first time I tasted this wine from bottle is forever etched in my memory. Its power, radiance and balance left me in awe—somehow deep and concentrated yet also finessed and graceful. Gigliola Gorelli and her two daughters, Sofia and Viola, farm their high-elevation vineyards in the northwest of Montalcino. Deceptively approachable in youth, this is a Brunello that ages remarkably well. I fill my own cellar with it every year.”

Stunning from the first tilt of the glass, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is impossible to ignore. This blends an array of dried flowers with autumnal spices, cedar-tinged cherries and clove hints in a way that I find wildly appealing. It sweeps across the palate with textures of pure silk guided by bright acidity as depths of wild berry fruits and mineral tones saturate toward the close. The 2019 lingers impossibly long, leaving a staining of primary concentration to mingle with grippy tannins and licorice nuances, yet an airy freshness remains through it all. The combination of house style and vintage character here is otherworldly. It will take much willpower to keep our hands off of the 2019 long enough to watch it properly mature. Spellbinding.

98 points – Eric Guido, November 2023

#30: 2014 Bodegas Vega Sicilia Unico

$450, Ribera del Duero, Spain

JH: “Quite simply, this is the most iconic wine in Spain.”

The 2014 Unico is primarily composed of Tempranillo, with an additional 6% dash of Cabernet Sauvignon, both sourced from the eponymous property in Ribera del Duero. Aged at length in barrels and large oak vats, the combination of aging methods brings out the wine's nuances in what was a generous year. A dark garnet-red in the glass. The aromas offer licorice and cedar notes alongside hints of orange peel, petit four, cola and pine. There's a background of ripe dark fruit. The palate is dry and plush with a chalky texture and supple tannins, contributing to the complex character. A nuanced red just at the beginning of its life.

97 points – Joaquín Hidalgo, September 2023

$330, Bordeaux, France

NM: “The 2020 l'Eglise-Clinet is tinged with poignancy, as winemaker Denis Durantou passed away that spring. But his daughters continued his legacy and completed this fabulous Pomerol that shone during a blind tasting. It's a wine that will give 30 to 40 years of drinking pleasure."

The 2020 L'Eglise-Clinet has a very intense bouquet with multi-layered red and black fruit, cedar and iron scents—complex and engaging, though there is a touch of oak still to be assimilated. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe, saturated tannins. Satin-textured, seamless and very precise with an irresistible, youthful, sensual finish, this is a brilliant wine that needs a few years in bottle (if you can resist). 

98 points – Neal Martin, January 2024