Browse using the new Vinous website now. Launch →
Moon Mountain Bounces Back with the Exceptional 2023s
United States: California, sonoma, featured
, Feb 2026
The 2023s from Sonoma’s Moon Mountain District are exceptional. A long, cool growing season with no shock events gave producers ideal conditions to turn out intensely aromatic, layered, structured wines. That’s a far cry from 2022, when intense heat and drought challenged these sites severely to the degree that some selections were not bottled at all. Readers will delight in exploring the 2023s, wines that represent Moon Mountain at its very finest.
Cellar Favorite: 1970 Hanzell Vineyards Pinot Noir & Chardonnay
United States: California, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Feb 2026
The 1970 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Hanzell Vineyards are an extraordinary testament to the quality and ageability of the wines from this pioneering Moon Mountain estate.
Going to California: Sonoma’s 2024s & 2023s
United States: California, featured
, Jan 2026
January is always such an exciting time in Sonoma, heavy rains and flooding excepted. The promise of the new year lies ahead. Many estates are releasing their latest wines. This year’s new releases are mostly from 2024 and 2023, two strong back-to-back vintages that provide fascinating contrasts, as the growing seasons were diametrically opposite. The best wines from both vintages are superb.
The Marcassin Mystique
United States: California, featured
, Jan 2026
There are few wineries in the United States, or the world for that matter, with the level of mystique that surrounds Marcassin. “Have you heard anything about Marcassin?” I am asked regularly. “When is the next release?” inevitably follows. A recent visit and tasting provided some answers during a wide-ranging conversation that ran the gamut from wine to vineyards to jazz.
Napa Valley Soars: The 2023 & 2024 Cabernet Sauvignons
napa, United States: California, featured
, Nov 2025
After three very challenging years, Napa Valley soars with the 2023 and 2024 Cabernet Sauvignons. The two vintages are quite different in style, and yet quality is very high in both years. In 2023, a long, cool growing season yielded young wines of exceptional finesse. Not to be outdone, the warmer 2024 vintage has a lot to offer as well. At some properties, the 2024s will challenge or surpass the 2023s.
New Releases: Ridge, Rhys and Centennial Mountain
United States: California, featured
, Oct 2025
This update contains reviews of the latest releases from two of the reference-point producers in the Santa Cruz Mountains—Ridge and Rhys—plus additional coverage of Rhys' Centennial Mountain project based in Sonoma County.
Santa Barbara: Out of Many, One
United States: California, featured
, Aug 2025
The refrain that kept running through my head over the course of two weeks of extensive tasting in and around Santa Barbara County was, “Is there anywhere else in the world that can do this many things this well?” The tapestry that makes up the Santa Barbara wine landscape is easily one of the most dynamic in the United States, if not the world. Through the lens of a long, auspicious growing season in 2023, Santa Barbara yielded an embarrassment of riches.
Beyond Expectations: Twenty-Three Years of Tablas Creek’s Esprit de Tablas
United States: California, featured
, Jul 2025
Constantly evolving while always staying true to its Rhône roots, Tablas Creek’s Esprit de Tablas remains one of the most ageworthy, dynamic red blends in the United States, Since 2000, the Esprit de Tablas (formerly Esprit de Beaucastel) has aimed to mirror Château de Beaucastel’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape through a Paso Robles lens, honoring the pioneering partnership between the Hass and Perrin families.
Littorai: The First Thirty Years
Verticals & Retrospectives, United States: California, featured
, Jul 2025
From humble beginnings in the early 1990s, Ted and Heidi Lemon quietly built one of the most impressive wineries in the United States. Along the way they influenced countless younger winemakers and spearheaded the development of what are now vibrant winegrowing communities in the West Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley. This report combines tasting notes and impressions from two recent tastings of mostly older vintages, wines that capture all the beauty and pedigree of some of the best sites in both appellations.
High Highs: Santa Lucia Highlands 2023
United States: California, featured
, Jul 2025
Nestled into a narrow, 18-mile stretch to the south of Monterey Bay, the Santa Lucia Highlands is one of the most consistent and consistently under-the-radar winegrowing regions in the United States. A long, even-tempered growing season in 2023 blessed winemakers with the opportunity to ascend to astonishing heights. And ascend they did.