Reviews

This 100% Pinot Noir from Los Carneros was ages 28 months on the lees, originally bottled to capture the brilliance and longevity of the 2013 vintage. After eight years, it shows elegant, fine, beading...

This wine celebrates Buena Vista's long history in Napa Valley, with grapes sourced from all over the region including St. Helena, Rutherford, Stags Leap, and Calistoga - and the label showcasing the impressive edifice at Buena Vista, depicts the winery built by its founder Count Agoston Haraszthy, in the late 19th century. Taste the tilled soil, the dusty cherry-chocolate cedar and the opulent, finely grained tannins that over-deliver for the price in this deep magenta-hued powerhouse. – Meridith May 

Forward and dense, in the nicest sense, with an aromatic weight of textured fruit, It fills your mouth – silky and concentrated. There’s an accent of barrel toast but just that, Mouthwatering, sweet flavor right to the finish this is really a joy. There’s some barrel here, so wait three years while drinking the Les Charbonnières. Excellent

The 2013 Pinot Noir No. 22 is a dead ringer for a grand cru Burgundy from the Côte de Nuits. Notes of forest floor, autumnal vegetation, spice box, blackcurrants and black cherries all drift up from the complex aromatics of this Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Believe it or not, there is something almost DRC-like in the aromatics of this wine, which makes me wonder what the clonal material was that Boisset was using, and what the source was for this wine. This is a stunner.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon JCB No 1 is absolutely magnificent – a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from clone 4 aged 19 months in 50% new French oak. Unfortunately, only 130 cases were made, but it’s a stunner from Boisset. Opaque purple, with notes of licorice, graphite, roasted espresso and chocolate, the wine shows terrific intensity, great fruit and a full-bodied, multidimensional mouthfeel. Drink it over the next 15 or more years.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Generations is a wine that comes from both St. Helena and Oakville and is 99% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the balance Petit Verdot. This beauty showcases how much Jean Charles Boisset has improved the quality of the Raymond wines. There are 2,112 cases of this wine, which has an inky purple color and a beautiful nose of licorice, toasty oak, blackberry, cassis, spice box and forest floor. The wine has great intensity, a full-bodied mouthfeel, terrific balance, and well-integrated acidity, tannin, alcohol and wood. It should drink well for 25-30+ years.