Pinot Perfection from Oregon, Napa and Sonoma Wonders and Ripe Argentine Malbecs: May 2026 Tasting Report

Our tastings of 1,849 wines in May included a whopping nine 100-pointers and 10 99-pointers, with all the top bottles from Napa and Sonoma except for one singular Oregon pinot noir.

The power and structure of the Rose & Arrow Estate Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills Touchstone 2023, from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, was what hit home for Staff Writer and Taster Courtney Humiston in awarding it a perfect score, although she said all of winemaker Felipe Ramirez’s offerings impressed for their “complexity and profound texture.”

The Touchstone pinot noir, though, was made even more distinct and compelling, with additional aging making it deeply mineral, with fresh yet ripe dark fruit, fine tannins and spice. This one is built to last forever, according to Courtney.

The wealth of delicious offerings from California in May was partially due to the magnificence of Napa’s 2023 vintage but also to the exceptionally strong chardonnay game being played in Napa and Sonoma right now, especially from the 2024 vintage.

The 100-point Napa cabernet sauvignons came from the districts of Coombsville, Stags Leap, Oakville and St. Helena, with two produced by Realm Cellars and one each by Grace Family and To Kalon Wine Co.

Realm Cellars made two fantastic wines, with the Realm Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville Farella Vineyard 2023 amazingly poised and calm with soothing blueberry and dark chocolate flavors, while the Realm Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Hartwell XX 2023 is pure, singular, energized and fresh, wrapped in firm, fine-grained tannins.

“In 2023 nobody was rushed,” said Realm director of winegrowing Chris Cooney. “You could pick any time you wanted to because there was no pressure.”

Grace Family Vineyards also earned a perfect score with their layered and plush Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2023, which Editor-at-Large Jim Gordon said “captures your imagination with flavors of blackcurrant, bay laurel, black olive, lilac and mineral, while the potent and structured To Kalon Vineyard Co. Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville To Kalon Vineyard HWC 2023 rounded out the memorable foursome. Napa consulting winemaker Tony Biagi made the To Kalon wine, polishing it with care and enabling it to be enjoyed while young while still having great potential for aging.

Biagi crafted a few other interesting bottles for the other wineries he works for during the month, and he really pushed the limits and reimagined two well-defined California varieties that can sometimes struggle to find their true identity in Napa – zinfandel and chardonnay. The results are both compelling and attractively priced.

The Mabon Zinfandel Napa Valley Rutherford Heritage Blend 2023 (96 points) “may reshape the way many think about zinfandel,” Staff Writer and Critic Ryan Mongtomery said, while the Mabon Chardonnay Napa Valley Carneros Hyde Vineyard 2023 (98) is laden with aromas of minerals, preserved lemons, wet stones, salted nuts, gunsmoke, beeswax and grapefruit rind that all lead into a tightly wound palate with a textural, rounded mouthfeel and a long line of acidity.

But the standout California chardonnays for the month, which James and Jim agreed can compete with the best white Burgundies, came from Aubert and Kistler. The Aubert Chardonnay Napa Valley Carneros Larry Hyde & Sons Vineyard 2024, Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma County Sonoma Coast Lauren Estate 2024, Kistler Chardonnay Napa Valley Carneros Hyde Vineyard 2024 and Kistler Chardonnay Sonoma County Russian River Valley Laguna Ridge Vineyard 2024 are all from the ‘24 vintage, which appears to be excellent for California whites, following the late and more delicate 2023 vintage.

James likened the Larry Hyde & Sons Vineyard chardonnay to a top Corton-Charlemagne for its density, intensity and oily, honeyed dried-apple character. The Lauren Estate bottling was slightly less deep and powerful but showed some of the most beautiful aromas James has encountered recently in a white wine.

The Kistler Hyde, meanwhile, is a baritone of a chardonnay, James said, with deep golden-fruit flavors, mineral and oyster-shell character through the midpalate and finish, and the richness of Hyde Vineyard without heaviness. The Kistler Laguna Ridge Vineyard 2024 offers a clear contrast in its agility, linearity and freshness, earning its perfect score for balance, energy and concentration.

One pinot noir of note from Sonoma was made by Jasmine Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards, who poured her 2023 pinot noirs for James in Hong Kong, describing them as more aromatic, delicate and “old-style Burgundy” in nature. Her highest-rated bottle was the ethereal and nearly perfect Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir Sonoma County Sonoma Coast Block 8 2023 (98).

Austere Argentine Malbecs

Senior Editor Zekun Shuai tasted a few deliciously austere malbecs from the Uco Valley in Argentina that he said “left him in awe,” but he also sampled some deep, opulent expressions from great, old-vine sites in Luján de Cuyo as well as those pushing the extremes of terroir and altitude in Salta and Mendoza.

The Matervini Malbec Las Heras El Challao Piedras Viejas Laderas 2024 (98) was one of the best from Zekun’s tastings. By the winemakers Roberto Cipresso and Santiago Achaval, who are crafting ripe, concentrated but very complex wines, this is an offering “that goes full throttle in its richness, complexity and concentration,” Zekun said.

Also look for the Matervini Malbec Valles Calchaquíes Imposibles 2024 (97) – a  Pucará expression that punches to its limit, with huge concentration, depth and color but without overextraction. It’s a colossal wine but still balanced and not chunky or overdone, according to Zekun, who recommends “the best juicy steak” you can find to go with it.

Compelling Ports

Senior Editor Jacobo García Andrade tasted some terrific 2024 Port wines after several producers became the first to declare for the year, with the wines from Quinta do Noval and Symington Family Estates particularly compelling. They move away from the more pruny, richer expressions of warmer vintages, instead showing cooler blue fruit, greater purity and definition.

Among the standouts was the Quinta do Noval Nacional 2024 (98-99), which shows its characteristic concentration combined with a more focused tannic profile that lends the wine precision and detail. From Symington, the Quinta do Vesuvio 2024 (98) appeals with absorbing aromatics and a fine balance between purity of fruit and tannic structure. Its mosaic of vineyard sites and varying altitudes contributes to the singularity of this wine.

In Italy, Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli was on a tasting journey in the Valtellina wine region, which offers a more transparent expression of nebbiolo than Barolo or Barbaresco. These wines, Aldo said, are “gems of balance and complexity even in their youth, without sacrificing aging potential.”

Among the standout in Aldo’s tastings were two riservas. The Arpepe Valtellina Superiore Buon Consiglio Riserva 2018 (96) is distinguished by its record-setting 130 days of maceration, with stunning sweet violet and rose bud aromas allied to blood orange, stony minerality and wild strawberry, while the Balgera Valtellina Superiore Riserva del Fondatore 2010 (98) is a fully mineral wine with filigreed aromas of crushed stones, licorice, tar, extremely fresh prunes and depth of dark wild fruits.

Recent tastings also yielded a few gems from Piedmont, including the Ceretto Barolo Brunate 2022 (97), as well as some older-vintage Italian wines he scored highly, including the 2006 (98 points) and 2009 (97) iterations of Argentiera’s Bolgheri Superiore.

Fresh and Light Bojos

Our tastings in May also included 184 Beaujolais wines, with some of the best bottles we tasted underlining why the region remains one of the most drinkable sources of characterful red wine. Most of the wines were from the wet and cold 2024, which still managed to produce generally fresh, light and transparent reds with bright fruit, crisp acidity and moderate alcohol.

Among the highest-rated 2024s were the Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly Cuvée Zaccharie, Domaine de Boischampt Juliénas Les 4 Cerisiers and Domaine de la Grand Cour Fleurie, all rated 95 points. Domaine de la Grand Cour’s Fleurie Tous Ensemble (95) also showed the clarity and aromatic lift that made the best 2024s compelling.

The 2023s were a clear contrast: hotter, richer and more generous, often with darker fruit, fuller tannins and broader textures. Some wines carried the warmth well, particularly from producers with the balance and vineyard material to keep freshness in the finish.

There were two other relatively high-scoring bottles from Spain and New Zealand we tasted in May. The 4 Kilos Vinícola Terra de Mallorca 4 Kilos 2023 (96), from Spain’s Islas Baleares wine region, is an earthy,  bright pure callet wine grown in iron-rich clay soils in the north and south of Mallorca, while the precise and layered Pyramid Valley Vineyards Chardonnay Central Otago Low Burn 2024 (95) is a well-driven New Zealand bottling whose bright acidity and long, delicious finish is well representative of the crisp and fresh chards that are consistently coming out of the world’s most southerly commercial wine region.

– 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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