December 2024 Tasting Report: Napa Cabs Soar, and Moving the Organic Needle in Germany

We rated 2,270 wines in December to increase our total for 2024 to a record-breaking 42,377, surpassing the previous high of 41,063, set in 2023, with some newly released Napa Valley cabernet sauvignons among the headliners. These included the latest releases from Outpost, a French-owned property based in the high-elevation Howell Mountain, as well as Lokoya’s terroir-specific offerings from the 2022 vintage.

Executive Editor Jim Gordon called the Outpost Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Howell Mountain True Vineyard 2021, “a nearly perfect wine that is plush yet muscular and sinewy at the same time," and he also tasted winemaker Chris Carpenter’s flurry of offerings at Lokoya, with the top one there being the Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Mount Veeder 2022, which is “a majestic wine with the intensity and tannin of a Pauillac,” according to Jim.

And highlighting Lokoya’s other mountain terroirs with a shade less-intense tannin and their own distinctive characters were the rich, opulent Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Howell Mountain 2022, the muscular but elegant Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Spring Mountain District 2022 and the Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Diamond Mountain District 2022, with its pure and saturated creme de cassis signature.

Jim also tasted the 2022 lineup of Sonoma County’s Williams Selyem winery with the director of winemaking, Jeff Mangahas, who carries on the tradition of gentle handling and aging of wines in Francois Freres barrels started by the founders Burt Williams and Ed Selyem 45 years ago. Foot treading of the grapes is another throwback technique, alongside low sulfite additions, no filtering, no fining, gentle movement from tank to barrel and extra care to prevent oxidation.

This is all best exemplified in their classic, mineral-driven Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Russian River Valley Rochioli Riverblock Vineyard 2022, as well as their Chardonnay Russian River Allen Vineyard 2022, which is incredibly appealing and delicious.

Also from Sonoma County, Jeff Cohn, the owner-winemaker of Jeff Cohn Cellars, continues to overachieve by turning out terrific syrah, viognier and zinfandel offerings, with his Jeff Cohn Syrah Sonoma County Rockpile So Serine 2021, laying bare the power of Sonoma’s high-elevation Rockpile district without turning heavy.

Meanwhile, La Jota winery’s offerings from Howell Mountain included the La Jota Vineyard Co. Merlot Napa Valley Howell Mountain W. S. Keyes Vineyard 2022, a pure, delicious and well-balanced merlot, while their Chardonnay Napa Valley Howell Mountain W. S. Keyes Vineyard 2022 is a structured, linear, non-malolactic version of chardonnay that’s more Chablis than Meursault.

Jim also moseyed on down to the Lone Star State – Texas – and found almost every grape variety and wine style you can imagine, and many high-quality, high-scoring wines that are little known outside the region, including textured tempranillos, silky cabernets, spicy tannats, meaty mourvedres, savory sangioveses and even some rare birds like picpoul blancs, montepulcianos and teroldegos.

Four of the highest-scoring bottles came from the same small winery founded by a French-born software engineer, Ben Calais, who started making wine in his Dallas garage about 10 years ago. His Calais Cabernet Sauvignon Texas High Plains Cuvée de l’Exposition Clone 47 Navarra Vineyards 2020 is a breathtaking, almost ethereal wine with a silky, delicate texture and pretty, intricate floral and red currant flavors.

A long-aged library wine from an even smaller operation, tucked just off the town square in Mason, Texas, is also a stunner. The Robert Clay Merlot Texas Hill Country 2015 is supple, intricate and layered, and is sold only direct to consumer in tiny quantities.

Our U.S. tastings were topped off by the latest releases from Domaine Serene of Willamette Valley, Oregon. Their restrained and linear Domaine Serene Chardonnay Dundee Hills Recolte Grand Cru 2021 shows very pure and refined aromas of lemon peel, toasted nuts, sliced apples, pastry, and oyster shells, while their Domaine Serene Chardonnay Dundee Hill Cote du Sud Vineyard 2022, is a refined, tightly wound chardonnay with undeniable power on the palate.

ORGANICALLY GERMAN 

Senior Editor Stuart Pigott was in the Traben-Trarbach wine region of Germany, where he tapped into the “stunning” 2023 vintage of Clemens Busch, an organic winemaker who has significantly moved the needle for the organic movement not only in Traben-Trarbach but in all of Germany.

The most extraordinary of their wines, the Clemens Busch Riesling Mosel Marienburg Raffes 2023, “is like an essence of Mosel riesling with totally astonishing concentration and precision,” Stuart said, and the equally dry Clemens Busch Riesling Mosel Marienburg Felsterrasse 2023 “has enormous aromatic density and complexity and is like a kaleidoscopic image of the steep-sided Mosel Valley.”

And thanks to climate change and a pioneering spirit, the self-taught winemaker Daniel Twardowski has turned Mosel pinot noir upside down during the last decade, as shown in his Daniel Twardowski Spätburgunder Mosel Pinot Noix Hofberg Réserve 2022, which Stuart said is the best Mosel red wine he has ever tasted, with amazing tension and purity, plus a salty freshness that is “off the scale.”

Natural wines also came into Stuart’s view in the Rheinhessen, where Kai Schatzel and Jule Eichblatt at the Schatzel winery in Nierstein are exploring a whole new cosmos of dry wines in terms of aromas and flavors, as well as pushing the boundaries of what the wines can be. The Schätzel Riesling Rheinischer Landwein Re, a non-vintage offering, is a great example, showing an incredibly deep leesy character with an alcohol level of just 10.5 percent.

The light-bodied Schätzel Riesling Rheinhessen Hipping Kabinett 2023, meanwhile, is “simultaneously juicy and very filigree with incredible flint and wet stone intensity, lemon crud, candied pineapple and peach blossom aromas,” according to Stuart.

Stuart also did a special tasting of German silvaners, which were the dominant wines of Germany a century ago and are undergoing a renaissance of sorts in Franken and Rheinhessen. Stuart found that the best of the silvaners still offer tremendous aging potential, as they do in a pair of stunning 2017 silvaners from Rudi May of Retzstadt in Franken.

The May Silvaner Franken Himmelspfad GG 2017 is “a cornucopia of garden-herb, citrus and wildflower aromas,” while the May Silvaner Franken Rothlauf GG 2017 shows an intensely mineral character alongside haunting white tea and wild herb aromas.

Another amazing pair of silvaners came from Uli Luckert in Franken and his Creutz vineyard, which may be the oldest silvaner parcel in the world. The Luckert Silvaner Franken Creutz Trocken *** 2016 shines with its great chalky minerality and amazing tension, while the Luckert Silvaner Franken Creutz Trocken *** 2017 has amazing leesy creaminess that is lit up by the mineral freshness. Both are from roughly 120-year-old vines.

A FRENCH LEGEND GROWS

The Loire Valley producer Clos Rougeard showed why it has established a cult following with the release of its stunning chenin blanc, the Clos Rougeard Saumur Brézé 2017. Senior Editor Zekun Shuai exalted the wine's depth and uncoiled complexity, which he said taps into the “tropical aspect” of chenin.

The latest release of Louis Roederer’s top Champagne, the 2016 Cristal, also fared well in our tastings, showing a fantastic balance of classic minerality with typical salty and chalky undertones as well as wonderfully pure and ripe fruit aromas, like peaches and Asian pears. Associate editor Claire Nesbitt found the 2016 Cristal to have superb concentration and integration with a super-long, resolved and creamy finish. It’s a blend of 58 percent pinot noir and 42 percent chardonnay, and has seamless, almost imperceptible bubbles.

The Louis Roederer Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2017 also shined in our French tastings. This offering is a pure chardonnay from the grand cru village of Avize, and it is creamy, beautifully balanced and silky on the palate, with delicate pastry notes alongside sliced pears and white flowers.

ITALY'S BUTTAFUOCO FLEX

In Italy, Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli tasted the latest releases of the Buttafuoco Storico Consortium in the wine region of Oltrepo Pavese, whose offerings include the native grapes croatina, barbera and ughetta di canneto (also known as vespolina).

Buttafuoco Storico wines always comes from a single vineyard and are highly complex, as can be seen in one of their standout releases, Fiamberti’s Buttafuoco Storico Vigna Solenga 2015, which is concentrated and powerful with notes of leather and tobacco alongside deep fruit and a very savory finish. Francesco Maggi's Vigna Costera Buttafuoco Storico 2015, meanwhile, pairs ripe dark fruit with notes of eucalyptus and a salted chocolate finish, and Calvi’s Vigna Montarzolo 2018 highlights the vintage, although this historic winery struggles with consistency across vintages.

Aldo also made the case that Rosso di Montalcino wines deserve to be known as more than just the “little brother of Brunello,” with their 2022 and 2023 releases showcasing the inherent, natural qualities of these pure sangiovese wines, which are grown on Montalcino’s mineral-rich hillside soils in a Mediterranean climate that ensures optimal ripening.

Rossos are increasingly crafted as standalone wines, not as a byproduct of Brunello production, and they can also be great bargains. Witness the Uccelliera Rosso di Montalcino 2023, with its citrusy, fleshy character; the Altesino 2023, with its light extraction and open aromatics balanced by a lively finish; and the San Filippo Rosso di Montalcino Lo Scorno 2023, which has a super-refined palate.

Among the 2022s, the Biondi-Santi Rosso di Montalcino 2022 showcases restrained elegance, minerality and fruit-infused tannins; the Fanti 2022 has a floral touch with silky vibrancy; and the Fattoi 2022 comes with a delightful crispness and distinctive licorice notes.

From Australia, we found some premium cool-climate offerings from Bindi Wines in the Macedon Ranges region. Their Bindi Chardonnay Macedon Ranges Quartz 2023 is extremely polished and tightly wound, with an underlying power and tension that should age magnificently, while the Bindi Pinot Noir Macedon Ranges Block 5 2022 offers intensely perfumed aromas, seamless tannins and bright acidity.

And from the Gippsland region, we tasted the wines of one of Australia’s most celebrated pinot noir producers: Bass Phillip Wines.

Their classic, ethereal style was on full display in their Bass Phillip Pinot Noir Gippsland Reserve 2022, which is deeply perfumed and lifted, while their Bass Phillip Chardonnay Gippsland Premium 2022 showcases chardonnay’s potential in this climate – it’s a Burgundian-styled offering that’s pure and refined with complex aromas of confit lemon peel, lemon, hazelnut, flint and lanolin.

Finally, we tasted a unique Japanese petit verdot in December, perhaps an indication of a promising future for the deeply colored, late-ripening and challenging variety. The Suntory Petit Verdot Yamanashi Tomi No Oka 登美の丘 プティ·ヴェルド 2020 is a classy, very serious petit verdot that is all about depth, freshness and a mineral quality. It needs time to open up in the glass before it evolves into an eloquent, abundant and complex wine, while the 2021 vintage of the same wine, although not as highly rated, is still fresh and polished, with silty tannins that dissipate into a linear and tight-knit finish.

– Vince Morkri, Managing Editor

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