Wine Spectator & Wine Enthusiast Scores

WINE SPECTATOR – SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

Girard 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon – 90 POINTS
Smooth-textured and easy to enjoy, with supple green and black olive, currant and spice notes. Offers a kiss of light oak and a finish that replays the fruit themes. Drink now through 2027. –JL

Clos de los Siete 2013 Red Blend – 90 POINTS
This offers good cut to the savory flavors of dried beef, berry and red currant, showing zesty minerality. Sun-dried tomato accents emerge on the finish. Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2019. –KM

Josh Cellars 2015 Chardonnay – 87 POINTS (web only)
A fruity and balanced white, with a mix of ripe apple and dried peach flavors, accented by buttery notes. Spicy finish. Drink now. 200,000 cases made. –KM

Villa Pozzi 2016 Nero d’Avola – 87 POINTS
A beam of ripe and juicy wild strawberry flavors leads the way in this medium-bodied red, framed by light, creamy tannins and hints of spice box, mocha and smoke. Easy-drinking and fresh. Drink now through 2019. –AN

WINE ENTHUSIAST – AUGUST 2017

Ramon Bilbao 2011 Reserva – 89 POINTS
The first take on this Rioja Reserva is of charred wood, then that’s backed up by piercing aromas of cherry and plum. This feels hard and abrasive, but powerful. Flavors of roasted plum, tomato and herbs finish with grating tannins and a lemony oak flavor. – MS

Josh Cellars 2015 Chardonnay – 88 POINTS
Bright lemon cream flavors follow buttery aromas in this bold, expressive wine. It’s showy yet maintains good acidity, its fresh apple notes balancing the butter, vanilla and cream sweetness. – JG

Chateau Bonnet 2016 Rosé – 88 POINTS
This is an attractive, ripe wine from the André Lurton group. It is smoothly rich, with balanced perfumed fruits and acidity. Full bodied and creamy, it is ready to drink. – RV

Kunde Family Winery 2015 Reserve Chardonnay – 88 POINTS
This wine’s tart, high-pitched acidity greets the palate with a youthful splash of lemon and lime before revealing its true concentration of rich toasted oak and baked apple flavor. Fulsome on the palate, it ends on a taste of the tropics. – VB

Joseph Carr 2015 Chardonnay – 87 POINTS
With its strong green olive aroma, this wine evolves into richly concentrated palate of anise, pineapple and pear, the fruit layered with vanilla. Light-bodied and supported by oak, it finishes bright. – VB

Wine Spectator & James Suckling Scores

Wine Spectator – July 31, 2017

The Calling 2015 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay  – 91 POINTS (web only)
Ultrarich and extracted, offering a firm core of pear, apple, melon and spice flavors. A truly impressive effort, with depth and dimension. Drink now through 2022. –JL

The Calling 2014 Sullivan Vineyard Chardonnay – 90 POINTS
Exhibits a rich mix of spicy oak, butterscotch, fig, honeydew and pear notes, ending with a long, deep finish that echoes the core flavors. Drink now through 2020. –JL

Girard 2015 Chardonnay – 88 POINTS
Offers a distinctive mix of peach, grapefruit, citrus and melon flavors that are lively and persistent, if a touch raw and edgy on the aftertaste. Drink now through 2020. –JL
Joseph Carr 2015 Chardonnay – 87 POINTS
Sleek and refined, yet trim and nearly tinny. A tight expression of drink-me-now Chardonnay that ends with citrus blossom and tart tropical fruit notes. Drink now. –JL

Kunde Family Winery 2015 Reserve Chardonnay (Sonoma Valley) – 87 POINTS (web only)
Light cedary oak underscores a crisp, juicy mix of citrus-laced green apple notes. Drink now through 2020.–JL

Kunde Family Winery 2015 Chardonnay (Sonoma Valley) – 87 POINTS
Rich, with rustic fig, apricot and honeydew flavors, laced with anise and licorice subtleties. Drink now through 2020.–JL

James Suckling – June 2017

Girard 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon – 92 POINTS
Attractive Napa cabernet with all the opulent fruit and subtle chocolate character you can appreciate in a wine from here, yet it shows freshness and polished tannins to boot. Delicious now but better in 2019.

Girard 2014 Artistry  – 90 POINTS
Blackcurrant and blueberry aromas follow through to a medium to full body, juicy fruit, soft tannins and a fruity finish. Bordeaux blend with a good dose of Malbec. Drink now.

Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast Scores

Wine Spectator – June 30, 2017

Peter Lehmann 2012 Stonewell Shiraz – 93 POINTS
Elegant, this offers a refined blend of sandalwood, cocoa and crushed pine needle notes, featuring polished cherry and raspberry details at the core. Plush and generous on the long, lingering finish. Drink now through 2030. 800 cases made. –MW

Girard 2014 Old Vine Zinfandel – 90 POINTS
Plump and briary, with appealing black cherry and spice aromas and ripe, supple raspberry and licorice flavors. Drink now through 2024. 2,500 cases made. –TF 

Wine Enthusiast – July 1, 2017

The Calling 2014 Sunny View Vineyard Pinot Noir – 94 POINTS
Cherry pie and nuanced spice flavors buoy this delicately layered, medium-bodied vineyard designate that’s built of robust fruit and supported quietly by oak. A thread of white pepper persists throughout, making it especially irresistible. – VB

The Calling 2014 Sullivan Vineyard Chardonnay – 93 POINTS
Light gold in color, this wine is focused and bright. A jasmine aroma and succulent green-apple flavor pairs with steely minerality, offering power and grace in one satisfying package. – VB

The Calling 2014 Patriarch Pinot Noir – 91 POINTS
Raspberry coulis flavors are supported by robust oak and tannin in this densely built wine. Dried herb, tart pomegranate and tea notes provide a sultry edge and proof of coastal influence, marrying well with the richness. – VB

Kunde Family Winery 2014 Reserve Century Vines Zinfanel – 88 POINTS
From head-trained vines interspersed with Alicante Bouschet and Petite Sirah, this is a bright, likable wine, teased in bacon, cola and brown sugar that finds a fresh streak of red currant and juicy strawberry as it opens, the acidity in full view. A bite of chocolate dots the finish. – VB

Josh Cellars Reserve 2014 North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon – 88 POINTS
Easy to enjoy for its straightforward flavors and balance, this medium-bodied wine smells like black cherries and strawberries, tastes fruity and moderately rich and is also shaded by vanilla and maple, adding complexity and a touch of sweetness. – JG

Kunde Family Winery 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – 87 POINTS
Tobacco leaf and dried herb dot the landscape of this velvety wine, made from the producer’s estate-grown grapes. Blackberry and dusty mocha are girded by bittersweet tannin and toasted oak. -VB