2013 Wine

The Cappella, which usually has at least 35-30% Cabernet Franc in it, looks absolutely fabulous now that the 2013 Cappella is finally in bottle. They only made about 206 cases of it, so it's a small cuvée from this vineyard... Read More

On solid footing, this is firm, tight, intense and focused, with a vibrant mix of zesty, earth-laced dark berry, cedar, crushed rock and subtle tobacco leaf notes. Best from 2020 through 2032.-JL

I tasted five Pinot Noirs from the two vintages, 2013 and 2014. The 2013 Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Vineyard displays that extra year of maturity, with its stemmy, earthy, slightly forest floor and underbrush notes intermixed with... Read More

The second release from Andremily's Jim Binns, the No 2 is an utterly profound blend of 85% Syrah, 11% Mourvèdre and 4% Viognier that saw a touch of whole cluster fermentation and 23 months in 62% new French oak barrels. Its... Read More

The second release from Andremily's Jim Binns, the No 2 is an utterly profound blend of 85% Syrah, 11% Mourvèdre and 4% Viognier that saw a touch of whole cluster fermentation and 23 months in 62% new French oak barrels. Its... Read More

The best vintages of Solaia are 1990, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010 and now 2013. Marchesi Antinori's 2013 Solaia is a profound and meaningful wine that is based mostly on Cabernet Sauvignon with Sangiovese and... Read More

Lots of salted caramel and wildflower honey on the nose, together with dried lemon peel and some dried apple. Full-bodied and very spicy, with tangy acidity adding vibrancy and life to the full body. Linear and integrated blanc... Read More

The 2013 Chardonnay East Side (1,000 cases produced) comes from a vineyard owned by Ulises Valdez and planted with the Montrachet clone. It is the rockiest site in the Aubert portfolio. Amazingly, it sees 100% new oak, but you... Read More

The 2013 Chardonnay Lauren Estate is made from 15-year-old vines from the old Wente and Mt. Eden clones of Chardonnay planted in Goldridge soils. This wine offers loads of nectarine, honeysuckle, liquefied rock, quince and white... Read More

The full-bodied, dense ruby-hued 2013 Pinot Noir Ritchie, which comes from the Calera clone of Pinot Noir, reveals plenty of beet root, forest floor, Asian hoisin sauce, plum, blackcurrant and cherry notes, as well as terrific... Read More

One of the sexiest Chardonnays in the entire portfolio seems to emerge from the only Napa vineyard Mark Aubert has, the Sugar Shack Estate in Rutherford. The 2013 Chardonnay Sugar Shack offers caramelized apples, brioche, crème... Read More

The rich, prodigious, full-bodied 2013 Pinot Noir UV, made from the Calera and Vosne-Romanée clones, is a denser, richer wine offering abundant notes of blueberries, blackberries, forest floor and strong hints of Asian hoisin... Read More

The UV-SL Vineyard is another Sonoma Coast vineyard planted with old Wente clones on the classic deep Goldridge sandy soils of the region. The 2013 Chardonnay UV-SL, with loads of nectarine, tangerine oil, mango and caramelized... Read More

The 2013 Pinot Noir UV-SL, primarily made from Calera and Vosne-Romanée clonal material, boasts a dense ruby/purple color as well as a big, sweet nose of blackcurrants, black cherries, forest floor and beet root. The complex aromatics... Read More

Probably the wine of the vintage, once again. Only 9,000 bottles of the 2013 Ausone were produced, as crop size was 50% of normal. However, proprietor Alain Vauthier and his daughter certainly have proven a truly great wine can... Read More

One of the great efforts of recent years, and not surprisingly so, is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve, a blend of 81% from Howell Mountain, 11% from St. Helena and the rest Calistoga and Mount Veeder. It is a blend... Read More

The 2013 EE Tench Vineyard, a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Cabernet Franc, is a stunner. This comes from the red, rocky terraces near the Dalla Valle Vineyard on the western Vaca hillsides in Oakville. This wine has... Read More

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Tench Vineyard (an Oakville site) plays the same theme song. Inky purple to the rim with magnificent aromatics of flowers, black and blue fruits, and touches of background barrique and earth, this wine... Read More

Another proprietary red wine, in this case a blend of 55% Petit Verdot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, is the 2013 Two Dog Knoll, which comes from the Oakville site. Normally with this much Petit Verdot, I would be worried about rustic... Read More

From a vineyard owned by Screaming Eagle's former proprietress, Jean Phillips, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Vixen Block Wildfoote is all Cabernet Sauvignon from clone 7, aged in equal parts new Taransaud and new Darnajou. An... Read More

Even more stunning is the 2013 Pinot Noir, which received similar treatment to the 2012. This wine shows complex forest floor notes, damp earth and Asian plum sauce interwoven with blackcurrant and black cherry as well as hints... Read More