| 49803 | 49802 | US | A lovely plum shade, this blends scents and flavors of pomegranate, cherry cola, Asian spice, black licorice and a dash of cacao. It's dense and penetrating, yet drinking well already. It spent nine months in 40% new French oak. | Estate | 91 | 35 | Oregon | Eola-Amity Hills | Willamette Valley | Paul Gregutt | @paulgwine | Bryn Mawr Vineyards 2014 Estate Pinot Noir (Eola-Amity Hills) | Pinot Noir | Bryn Mawr Vineyards |
| 49804 | 49803 | Australia | Yarra Valley isn't really where you'd expect to find Marsanne, so this entirely barrel-fermented example is a treat. Only 10% new oak is used, just enough to lend a subtle note of toasted hazelnuts to the fruit, imparting silky texture and added complexity to the white peach, fig and melon flavors on the medium-bodied palate. Finishes long and citrusy. | Warramunda Reprise | 91 | 28 | Victoria | Yarra Valley | | Joe Czerwinski | @JoeCz | Ben Haines 2014 Warramunda Reprise Marsanne (Yarra Valley) | Marsanne | Ben Haines |
| 49805 | 49804 | Spain | Elegant spicy aromas of dried red fruits and plum are fresh and clean. A pure forward medium-bodied palate holds flavors of spiced cherry, plum and vanilla. Those flavors are repeated and unbroken on a clean lithe finish. Drink through 2022. | Solar de Becquer Reserva | 91 | 40 | Northern Spain | Rioja | | Michael Schachner | @wineschach | Bodegas Escudero 2010 Solar de Becquer Reserva (Rioja) | Tempranillo Blend | Bodegas Escudero |
| 49806 | 49805 | Australia | Classic Margaret River Cabernet, showing great balance between cedary oakiness and effusive fruitiness. Cola and plum notes give this a darker flavor spectrum than some vintages, yet the flavors remain crisp and vibrant, ending with soft tannins. Drink now–2025. | | 91 | 72 | Western Australia | Margaret River | | Joe Czerwinski | @JoeCz | Cape Mentelle 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River) | Cabernet Sauvignon | Cape Mentelle |
| 49807 | 49806 | Australia | Dark chocolate and cedar merge easily on the nose of this medium- to full-bodied wine. Those dark, oaky elements are balanced by tart berries on the palate, enhanced by barrel char and oodles of soft tannins on the long finish. Drink now–2025. | Scotsdale | 91 | 37 | Western Australia | Great Southern | | Joe Czerwinski | @JoeCz | Howard Park 2013 Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon (Great Southern) | Cabernet Sauvignon | Howard Park |
| 49808 | 49807 | US | This is the first reserve Pinot Gris from the winery—half fermented in stainless, half in barrel. The wine feels as if it's very lightly oxidized, with dusty, tawny apple flavors that recall a good hard cider. Its power is in the persistent, bone dry finish, that never quits. Drink now through 2018. | Reserve | 91 | 26 | Oregon | Chehalem Mountains | Willamette Valley | Paul Gregutt | @paulgwine | Carabella 2014 Reserve Pinot Gris (Chehalem Mountains) | Pinot Gris | Carabella |
| 49809 | 49808 | France | The great dominance of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend has given this wine both a fine structure and crisp swathes of black-currant fruit. It is a firm wine at this stage, although the fine fruitiness will become an important part of the taste. The estate is named after one of Napoleon's generals who became King of Sweden. Drink from 2021. | | 91 | 40 | Bordeaux | Haut-Médoc | | Roger Voss | @vossroger | Château Bernadotte 2014 Haut-Médoc | Bordeaux-style Red Blend | Château Bernadotte |
| 49810 | 49809 | France | The wine has weight, tannins and a firm structure. At the same time, its ripe black fruits are developing to fill out the structure and give an impressive wine. Hints of dark chocolate go with the juicy acidity to leave a wine that has several years to develop. Drink from 2021. | | 91 | 30 | Bordeaux | Moulis-en-Médoc | | Roger Voss | @vossroger | Château Branas Grand Poujeaux 2014 Moulis-en-Médoc | Bordeaux-style Red Blend | Château Branas Grand Poujeaux |
| 49801 | 49800 | Australia | This isn't Coonawarra's most elegant wine, but it certainly doesn't lack for character or concentration. Menthol, vanilla, cedar and cassis deliver plenty of flavor in this chunky, full-bodied Cabernet. Charred, mocha-like notes emerge on the long, intense finish. Drink now–2025. | | 91 | | South Australia | Coonawarra | | Joe Czerwinski | @JoeCz | Balnaves of Coonawarra 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra) | Cabernet Sauvignon | Balnaves of Coonawarra |
| 49802 | 49801 | US | This delightful wine, principally fermented in neutral oak, and aged sur lie, offers lovely details of apple flesh and skin, white melon, a hint of daikon radish, and the pinpoint persistence that is the mark of superior winemaking. Pinot Blanc can go in various directions in Oregon, but this bright and acidic wine really shows the way to a style that is at once drinkable, complex and food friendly. | | 91 | 18 | Oregon | Willamette Valley | Willamette Valley | Paul Gregutt | @paulgwine | Brigadoon 2015 Pinot Blanc (Willamette Valley) | Pinot Blanc | Brigadoon |
| 49811 | 49810 | France | Owned by the Cruse family, part of the old Bordeaux elite, the estate is in the southern Médoc. The wine, with its firm character and rounded fruit, has weight and considerable richness. It will develop into a plush full-bodied wine. Drink from 2020. | | 91 | 25 | Bordeaux | Haut-Médoc | | Roger Voss | @vossroger | Château du Taillan 2014 Haut-Médoc | Bordeaux-style Red Blend | Château du Taillan |
| 49812 | 49811 | France | This is a fine wood-aged blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and Petit Verdot. It is darkly colored, dense and with great ripe tannins. One of several Bordeaux properties owned by the Thiénot family, this estate occupies a fine, gravel outcrop in the Pessac-Léognan region, just south of Bordeaux. Drink from 2024. | | 91 | 39 | Bordeaux | Pessac-Léognan | | Roger Voss | @vossroger | Château la Garde 2014 Pessac-Léognan | Bordeaux-style Red Blend | Château la Garde |
| 49813 | 49812 | France | Ripe tropical fruits along with intense sweet lemon give this wine its fine acidity and ripe character. It is pure, clear and clean with lively acidity and a tangy zingy aftertaste that also brings in some minerality. Drink from 2018. | Aigle d'Argent | 91 | | Bordeaux | Bordeaux Blanc | | Roger Voss | @vossroger | Château Mouton Rothschild 2014 Aigle d'Argent (Bordeaux Blanc) | Bordeaux-style White Blend | Château Mouton Rothschild |
| 49814 | 49813 | France | This a finely perfumed wine with its 32% Cabernet Franc, unusual for this estate. It gives a wine with great structure and concentration as well as layers of ripe black fruits. The wine needs to age so drink from 2023. | | 91 | 39 | Bordeaux | Pomerol | | Roger Voss | @vossroger | Château Nenin 2014 Pomerol | Bordeaux-style Red Blend | Château Nenin |
| 49815 | 49814 | France | Ripe Merlot gives this wine its richness and concentration. It is filled with black fruits, hints of the wood aging and with tannins cushioned by the fruit. Acidity shows strongly at the end, leaving a bright aftertaste. Drink from 2020. | Le Dragon de Quintus | 91 | 31 | Bordeaux | Saint-Émilion | | Roger Voss | @vossroger | Château Quintus 2014 Le Dragon de Quintus (Saint-Émilion) | Bordeaux-style Red Blend | Château Quintus |
| 49816 | 49815 | France | The home chateau of the group of properties owned by the Guyon family, this estate has produced a solid very ageworthy wine. It has dark tannins and rich juicy black fruits. With its structure and bright berry and plum flavors, it will not be ready to drink before 2020. | | 91 | 35 | Bordeaux | Médoc | | Roger Voss | @vossroger | Château Rollan de By 2014 Médoc | Bordeaux-style Red Blend | Château Rollan de By |
| 49817 | 49816 | Italy | Earthy underbrush, scorched earth, leather and grilled Porcini mushroom aromas lead the nose. The brawny, vigorous palate delivers fleshy wild cherry, black raspberry, anise and vanilla flavors, while firm, chewy tannins lend structure. Drink 2020–2027. | | 91 | 65 | Tuscany | Brunello di Montalcino | | Kerin O’Keefe | @kerinokeefe | Collemattoni 2012 Brunello di Montalcino | Sangiovese | Collemattoni |
| 49818 | 49817 | US | This affordable wine is a testament to skilled sourcing and blending, using choice grapes from up and down the coast. Spicy cherry, forest and black tea aromas provide plenty varietal character, while medium-bodied weight and juiciness are lifted by bright acidity. | | 91 | 15 | California | Sonoma County-Monterey County-Napa County | California Other | Virginie Boone | @vboone | Contour 2014 Pinot Noir (Sonoma County-Monterey County-Napa County) | Pinot Noir | Contour |
| 49819 | 49818 | US | This reserved and classically styled wine has subtle fig and marzipan aromas, is dry on the palate, with a bundle of tight fruit and spice flavors wound up in fresh acidity that emerge slowly with each sip and on the finish. It is a serious wine and a good candidate to age until 2018 or longer. | Dach Vineyard | 91 | 55 | California | Anderson Valley | | Jim Gordon | @gordone_cellars | Domaine Anderson 2013 Dach Vineyard Chardonnay (Anderson Valley) | Chardonnay | Domaine Anderson |
| 49820 | 49819 | France | Maturity gives a bruised apple aroma to the generous mellowness of ripe pear on the nose. The palate is more taut than the nose leads you to expect, but there is concentration and richness and more bruised apple skin texture. Fruit, evolved flavors and freshness make for an intriguing wine. Drink soon. | Frankstein Grand Cru | 91 | 25 | Alsace | Alsace | | Anne Krebiehl MW | @AnneInVino | Domaine Mersiol 2011 Frankstein Grand Cru Pinot Gris (Alsace) | Pinot Gris | Domaine Mersiol |
| 49821 | 49820 | France | Sumptuous peach comes across as almost overripe. There certainly is opulence on the rich almost oily palate. Flavors are very concentrated and have edges of caramel and barley sugar, but these are balanced by freshness and a pithy welcomed bitterness. This finishes medium sweet with lingering flavors of both zest and peach. | Frankstein Grand Cru | 91 | 26 | Alsace | Alsace | | Anne Krebiehl MW | @AnneInVino | Domaine Mersiol 2012 Frankstein Grand Cru Gewurztraminer (Alsace) | Gewürztraminer | Domaine Mersiol |
| 49822 | 49821 | France | A touch of fresh bay leaf, wet earth and musk rose combine to make a very enticing intriguing nose. The resolutely dry palate carries these lovely aromatics with zesty freshness and lovely zesty texture that is reminiscent of grapefruit peel. It is its abiding freshness that makes this stand out. | Turckheim | 91 | 26 | Alsace | Alsace | | Anne Krebiehl MW | @AnneInVino | Domaine Zind-Humbrecht 2015 Turckheim Muscat (Alsace) | Muscat | Domaine Zind-Humbrecht |
| 49823 | 49822 | US | From two blocks of a vineyard above Freestone that's strongly influenced by the ocean, this wine is marked by leathery pepper, baked cherry and an exotic mix of savory spice. Medium-bodied, it has a density that's both plush and lush. | Dutton Ranch Freestone Hill Vineyard | 91 | 72 | California | Russian River Valley | Sonoma | Virginie Boone | @vboone | Dutton-Goldfield 2014 Dutton Ranch Freestone Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley) | Pinot Noir | Dutton-Goldfield |
| 49824 | 49823 | US | This wine is all bramble and brawn. High-octane in power and ripeness, it has a juicy core of mocha-laced blackberry fruit. Pencil shavings and gravel notes add a tease of minerality amongst all that richness. | Family Reserve | 91 | 75 | California | Howell Mountain | Napa | Virginie Boone | @vboone | Charles Krug 2013 Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Howell Mountain) | Cabernet Sauvignon | Charles Krug |
| 49825 | 49824 | Spain | Tight, woody and refined on the nose, this is concentrated and dark in style, with good grip but nothing fierce or grabby to the palate. Toasty peppery black-fruit flavors finish warm and easy. Drink this bold Mencía through 2019. | Cepas Viejas | 91 | | Northern Spain | Bierzo | | Michael Schachner | @wineschach | Dominio de Tares 2014 Cepas Viejas Mencía (Bierzo) | Mencía | Dominio de Tares |
| 49826 | 49825 | US | Too ripe and too oaky, and both attributes reinforce each other. The blackberry and currant fruit approaches Port in raisiny ripeness, while the oak accentuates the tannic sweetness. Clumsy now, but sometimes these wines improve in the long run. Try holding until after 2013. | Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard | 86 | 150 | California | Napa Valley | Napa | | | Janzen 2007 Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) | Cabernet Sauvignon | Janzen |
| 49827 | 49826 | US | Not quite as good as the 2007 Les Collines from this producer, but perhaps it just needs more bottle age. Light spritz and flavors of berry punch, along with not-yet-integrated barrel toast. Give it another year to fill out. | Les Collines Vineyard | 86 | 22 | Washington | Walla Walla Valley (WA) | Columbia Valley | Paul Gregutt | @paulgwine | Angel Vine 2008 Les Collines Vineyard Zinfandel (Walla Walla Valley (WA)) | Zinfandel | Angel Vine |
| 49828 | 49827 | Chile | Toast, buttercup and baked apple aromas give it some richness and sweetness to start, and the palate is creamy but well balanced, with toasty apple, peach and vanilla flavors. Solid and creamy on the finish, with tropical afterburners. Drink soon before it fades. | Reserva | 86 | 11 | Casablanca Valley | | | Michael Schachner | @wineschach | Veramonte 2008 Reserva Chardonnay (Casablanca Valley) | Chardonnay | Veramonte |
| 49829 | 49828 | Chile | Salad dressing, vinegar and a heavy herbal blast greet you on the nose. The palate is chunky and thick in feel, but the flavors mirror the nose with green notes, herbs and burnt coffee. Has its merits but there's no escaping the fact that this is an herbal, roasted red blend. | Cuvée Don Reca Limited Release | 86 | 25 | Cachapoal Valley | | | Michael Schachner | @wineschach | Viña La Rosa 2007 Cuvée Don Reca Limited Release Red (Cachapoal Valley) | Red Blend | Viña La Rosa |
| 49830 | 49829 | Italy | Bricco Bastia offers an inky, dense expression of Dolcetto with loads of dark fruit, cherry and blueberry intensity. There are also mineral notes in there and the close is slightly vinous, chewy and raw. | Bricco Bastia | 86 | 23 | Piedmont | Dolcetto d'Alba | | | | Conterno Fantino 2009 Bricco Bastia (Dolcetto d'Alba) | Dolcetto | Conterno Fantino |