Press Room

The Aristocrat Reviews

Score: 91 | January 31, 2024 | Wine Advocate

A successful wine in a fire-marred vintage, the 2020 Aristocrat Red Wine boasts complex aromas of licorice, peppery greens and red raspberries. An unusual blend of Valdiguié, Charbono, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon made using only 24% new French oak, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and charming, with a dusting of soft tannins on the finish.

Score: 93 | December 13, 2023 | James Suckling

Blackcurrants, blackberries, walnuts and ground spices on the nose. A little earthy, too. Sleek and refined with medium to full body. Tannins are fine-grained and melted into the wine. Smooth and even with a lingering finish. Better from 2026.

Score: 90 | November 30, 2021 | Wine Spectator

Strikes a wonderful balance between juicy, fresh fruit flavors and chewy, ripe tannins. Offering red licorice, maraschino cherry, dried herb and black tea notes, with spicy tobacco details lingering on the finish. Valdiguié, Charbono, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2030. 95 cases made. — MW

Score: 93 | March 4, 2016 | Wine Advocate

The 2013 Proprietary Red The Aristocrat from Napa has a beautiful nose of crème de cassis, licorice and floral notes. It is full-bodied with sweet tannin, a multilayered mouthfeel and impressive texture and length. This is a beauty and, while accessible already, should age effortlessly for 15-20 or more years.

Score: 90 | October 1, 2015 | Wine & Spirits

This is a new wine from Buena Vista, presenting a blend of varieties that once thrived in Napa Valley - valdiguie from pre-Prohibition vines and charbono - along with petit verdot. The old vines perform well in the warm Calistoga climate, creating a generous red with sour plum flavors and darker fruit, like the blackness of cherry skins. The finish leaves a trace of Napa Valley hillside scrub, a woodsy scent that brings to mind Manzanita and lichen-covered rock. A clean, intriguing red, this will add depth to seared duck breast. 

Score: 90 | October 1, 2015 | Wine Enthusiast

 Mouthfillingly juicy and jammy, this is a big, muscular red blend, dense and concentrated in red and blue fruit. Approachable and accessible, with a mellow structure, it finishes thick in wild vanilla. —V.B.