Honing Exemplars in Napa, Oregon’s Pinot Power and a Centennial Classic

We rated 1,984 wines from 13 countries in February, but it was Napa Valley, California, where much of our attention was focused as we uncorked even more awesome bottles from the region’s superb 2023 vintage and had our first glimpse of 2024.

Six Napa 2023 wines earned perfect scores of 100 points from the JamesSuckling.com tasting team, with the other 100-pointer for the month from Napa’s 2024 vintage, which Staff Writer and Critic Ryan Montgomery did a preview on last week. And out of our nine 99-pointers during the month, five were Napa 2023s and two were Napa 2022s.

Topping the perfect scorers were a few elegant, fresh and juicy cabernet sauvignons from Bryant Family Vineyard, with more astonishing examples from Futo and and Harlan family's Bond and Harlan Estate.

Straight out of Pritchard Hill, the bold and muscular Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (100 points) shows off enticing savory, mineral qualities that complement luscious red and black fruits on firm, fine grained tannins. Winemaker Kathryn Carothers said the “beautiful ripening” they saw in their vineyards that year contributed to the wine’s balance, freshness and drinkability.

These qualities were equally evident in their other perfect-scoring bottle, the Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Franc Napa Valley Estate 2023 (100), which is a new offering and just as stunning as the cabernet sauvignon if a bit more approachable now for its generous, rounded feel and remarkable concentration.

And James said that after tasting two perfect-scoring wines at Futo – the Futo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Stags Leap District 5500 Estate 2023 and Futo Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Stags Leap District 2024 – he’s wondering if its time to add the winery to Napa’s cult list, given that it’s one of the few times over his four decades as a wine critic that a Napa wine received perfect scores for a red and a white at the same time.

There was also a trio of 100-pointers from the Harlan family, starting with the Bond Napa Valley Pluribus 2023 and Bond Napa Valley St. Eden. “Their balance, brightness and relatively low alcohol give a clarity and precision that is perfection and shows the true position and terroir of their single vineyards,” James said of the pair. And their Harlan Estate 2023 red was superb, according to James, coming through with a sophistication and handmade quality that only comes from some of the best viticultural practices in the state.

Oregon's Pinot Power

Pinot noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley dominated our highest-rated wines from the region this month, with standout bottles from Antica Terra, Bergström and Cristom.

Leading the group was the Antica Terra Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills Antikythera 2022 (98 points) a singular wine from a parcel planted on the western slopes of the Amity Hills at the marginal southwestern edge of the Willamette Valley — an area once considered too cold for viticulture.

Antica Terra owner and winemaker Maggie Harrison describes the vines there as “bonsais,” producing tiny clusters shaped by relentless Pacific winds and thin volcanic soils. The resulting wine is intense yet aromatic, revealing layers of red fruit, exotic spice, pine forest, sandstone, orange peel and rose petals framed by a powerful yet elegant structure.

Also check out their pretty and perfumed Antica Terra Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Botanica 2023, herbal and savory Ceras 2023 and powerful, full-bodied Obelin 2022 (both 97 points).

The Bergstrom family in the Willamette is among many producers who are just starting to roll out their 2024 vintage, and all their offerings featured nuanced aromatics, vibrant fruit, luscious tannins and freshness balanced with power. Their Bergström Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Bergström Vineyard 2024 (97), from their estate vineyard in the Dundee Hills, balances mineral and floral aromas with luscious red fruit flavors.

In the Eola-Amity Hills, Cristom leans into the power that pinot noir from this windy, volcanic region produces, and their 2023 pinots are intense but remarkably balanced with all the fruit, delicacy and aromatics to support the abundant tannins and acidity. Their Cristom Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Eola-Amity Hills Marjorie Vineyard 2023 (97) is elegant and structured, with a nervy backbone of fine, chalky, mouth-filling tannins.

Centennial Classic 

We also had an amazing beauty coming out of Australia – the Seppeltsfield Rare Tawny South Australia Para 1926 (99), from a barrel that had been resting in Seppeltsfield’s "Centennial Cellar" of their Barossa Valley winery, evolving and aging for 100 years until it was bottled earlier this year for release. Ryan said the wine “pours almost like motor oil, with extraordinary depth and concentration and aromas of rum, bitter chocolate, salted caramel, nuts, burnt orange, sweet spice, mahogany, dates, cloves, cardamom, leather and varnish. Given its rarity and price point, it’s not the easiest bottle to secure, but if you can get your hands on it, it is well worth the experience.

And Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli was in the Barolo subregion of Italy’s Serralunga in February, where he tasted through some notably complex and austere offerings from artisanal estates including Palladino, which is committed to some of the most authentic expressions of Barolo.

The standout in his tastings was the Palladino Barolo San Bernardo Riserva 2020 (97), which Aldo said shows fresh elegance alongside the balanced structure of a poised, rounded vintage. In addition, Aldo found a set of their 2022s to be “remarkably precise and complex despite the challenges of the vintage” – namely the rich and juicy Palladino Barolo Ornato 2022 and firmer Palladino Barolo Parafada 2022 (both 96).

And Hungary doesn’t usually feature in our top tastings, but the Royal Tokaji winery has been regularly showing out with its releases. Right at the top for Associate Editor Andrii Stetsiuk was the 99-point Royal Tokaji Essencia 2017, which is the estate’s largest Essencia production to date and “stands as one of the most extraordinary and rare sweet wines in the world, defined by its immense concentration, natural balance and remarkable longevity,” according to Andrii.

Among the dry Royal Tokaji offerings, all of which offer a compelling balance between ripeness and acidity, the Royal Tokaji Furmint Mézes Mály 2023 (95) delivers polish and a fine phenolic grip, while the Szt. Tamás 2022 (96) emphasizes precision and stony focus. From Betsek, the Furmint Úrágya 2021 (96) combines breadth with vivid acidity, while the  Vineyard Selection 2021 (96) further underlines the estate’s direction toward dry wines with backbone and energy.

Finally, out of China and the heavenly Shangri-La region came the latest flagship release from the Ao Yun winery, the Ao Yun Shangri-La 2022 (98), which “will be remembered as a more confidently pristine, supple expression of the wine – one with early appeal but which should also age elegantly, with more precision, refinement and less opulence,” according to Senior Editor Zekun Shuai.

This is a bottling that shows well year after year, and estate manager Maxence Dulou, attributed the 2022’s excellence to the ideal growing season, which saw plentiful rain in the spring and fall plus a warmer and sunnier than usual summer. But because of all the rain, Ao Yun also had to deal with downy mildew, and so the wine tastes a little less dense than in past vintages. The tradeoff, however, seems to be better fluidity and refinement with finer tannins, which still lend proper structure and verticality to the wine.

– Vince Morkri, Editor-in-Chief

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated by the JamesSuckling.com tasting team. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. 

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