Napa’s New Precision, Cool Italians and Australian Heritage

The tasters at JamesSuckling.com rated 2,373 wines in September, with perfection pouring in from all directions. We had nine 100-point bottles – four Napa Valley cabernet sauvignons, a pinot noir and chardonnay from Sonoma County and another chard and two rieslings from Germany.

James uncovered four of these beauties from a single producer: Hundred Acre Wines in Napa’s St. Helena. There, he met up with  one of Napa Valley’s most colorful yet private owners and winemakers, Jayson Woodbridge, and gave perfect ratings to the Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Dark Ark 2022, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Ark Vineyard 2022, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Wraith Crypt 2021 and Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Wraith Holy Quest 2022.

These were all “eccentrically precise wines with their full-throttle nature,” according to James, with the 2022s in particular “phenomenally seamless and not overpowering, with everything in the right place.”

At Dana Estates, James caught up with owners Hi Sang Lee and Jae Chun, tasting five vintages of their rare Hershey Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. Structured and ageworthy, the wines show “white intensity with red-like phenolics,” James noted. The 2024, still in barrel, hinted at even greater finesse.

Associate Editor Ryan Montgomery reviewed 188 Napa wines, mostly from the 2023 vintage, which was cooler and fresher than recent years. Two standout producers define the new guard: Alta Nova and Di Costanzo.

The Alta Nova Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Diamond Mountain District AG Vineyard 2023 leads the charge, near-perfect in balance with dark fruit, floral lift and mineral tension. Desmond Echavarrie’s touch “captures the essence of the vintage and AVA.”

Erin and Massimo Di Costanzo continue to refine their elegant, terroir-driven style. Their Di Costanzo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Coombsville Caldwell Vineyard 2023 shows red and black currants, cedar and olive brine on a taut, mineral frame — “no excess fat, just balance,” Ryan wrote.

In Sonoma County, Executive Editor Jim Gordon uncovering two perfect-scoring bottles and a slew of other terrific offerings.

The Peter Michael Winery in Sonoma’s Knights Valley appellation gave us both of the 100-point scorers. The seamless Peter Michael Winery Chardonnay Sonoma County Knights Valley Belle-Cote 2023 is super vibrant, energized and tangy, with vital acidity supporting luscious ripe pear and apple flavors on a silky texture, while the Peter Michael Winery Pinot Noir Sonoma County Fort Ross-Seaview Ma Danseuse 2023 is dark, powerful, full-bodied, packed with black tea, bay leaf and dark cherries yet structured and appetizing.

From the Sonoma Coast, Summer Dreams – another Jayson Woodbridge project – continues its rise. James called the Summer Dreams Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast The Wedge 2023 “fresh and polished,” and the Walking on Venice Beach 2024 “racy, zesty and vivid.”

Meanwhile, Ferren and Arista, led by winemaker Matt Courtney and Mark Williams, showcased how Sonoma’s dual identities — the plush Russian River Valley and the saline western coast — can both achieve balance and distinction. The Ferren Chardonnay Silver Eagle Vineyard 2022 stood out for its minerality and botanical lift.

Masterfully German

Senior Editor Stuart Pigott’s tastings across Germany during the month confirmed both the country’s mastery of riesling and its growing prowess with pinot noir and chardonnay.

At Dr. Loosen in the Mosel, Stuart found a perfect Dr. Loosen Riesling Mosel Erdener Prälat GG Réserve 2019, calling it “a hypnotic giant of exotic fascination” after six years of aging on lees and in bottle. The Dr. Loosen Riesling Mosel Erdener Treppchen Spätlese 2024 also impressed Stuart with its salty minerality and featherlight body.

Fellow Mosel star Günther Steinmetz achieved perfection with the Günther Steinmetz Riesling Mosel Piesporter Treppchen V.d.T. 2024, from 100-year-old vines – “awesomely concentrated and hyper-precise,” Stuart said. His range of kabinetts, especially the Günther Steinmetz Riesling Mosel Wintricher Geierslay Kabinett 2024, shined with dazzling acidity and mirabelle fruit.

At Joh. Jos. Prüm in Wehlen, the Joh. Jos. Prum Riesling Mosel Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese (Auction Wine) 2024 embodies “enormous freshness and drive,” even amid sweetness, proving once again why Prüm’s name is synonymous with Mosel finesse.

And Stuart found in his September tastings that Germany’s 2023 reds rival Burgundy’s, although with a touch more acidity.The Fürst Spätburgunder Franken Schlossberg GG 2023 and Fürst Spätburgunder Franken Hundsrück GG 2023 are among the top pinots of the year – one vibrant and silky, the other deep and brooding. The Bernhard Huber Spätburgunder Baden Schlossberg GG 2023 follows closely, its floral and mineral interplay a hallmark of Baden excellence.

Chardonnay, once an experiment, now thrives in Germany’s warming climate. Huber’s Chardonnay Schlossberg GG 2023 became the country’s first-ever perfect-scoring chardonnay, with Stuart raving about its candied citrus, toasted nuts and chalky minerality. Fürst’s Chardonnay R Trocken 2023 and Franz Keller’s Kirchberg 2023 add further proof that Germany now ranks among the world’s elite for the variety.

And Although we don’t systematically cover Swiss wines due to their limited exports, Stuart  found a beauty in September in the Jean-René Germanier Syrah Rives Réserve de Cayas 2022. From the Valais region in the Rhone Valley, it’s an exceptional wine – a Swiss Cote-Rotie doppelganger, with ripe blackberry, pepper and spice wrapped in textural finesse.

Cool Subregions, Hot Names

Tuscany’s most exciting wines this month hailed from Bolgheri, Panzano in Chianti, and Valdarno di Sopra – cooler zones that combine grace and depth in their offerings, according to Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli.

In Bolgheri, cabernet franc continues to rise. The debut Castello di Bolgheri Bolgheri Superiore Barinca 2021 showcases eucalyptus, cassis and balsamic finesse with polished tannins. From Valdarno, the Petrolo Sangiovese Valdarno di Sopra Vigna Bòggina A 2023, fermented in amphora, stands out for its strawberry and stone aromas, subtle creaminess and graphite precision.

At Tenuta Sette Ponti, the Tenuta Sette Ponti Merlot Toscana Sette 2022 offers plushness and refinement — a “pure merlot,” James noted. And in Panzano, the Giorgio Primo Toscana 2021 from Tenuta La Massa combines black cherry, incense and cocoa with velvety tannins, while Le Cinciole’s Petresco 2021 delivers organic, terroir-driven depth and vitality.

In the northeast, a mix of challenging weather and low yields produced remarkable concentration. Livio Felluga’s Rosazzo Abbazia di Rosazzo 2021 glows with minerality and dried flower notes, while his Terre Alte 2022 balances aromatic richness with stony tension.

Senior Editor Zekun Shuai’s tastings in the Spanish wine region of Priorate revealed how the cooler 2021 vintage elevated carignan and garnacha to new heights.

The Ferrer Bobet Selecció Especial Vinyes Velles 2021 combines cured meat, rosemary and tile aromas with chiseled acidity and length. The Torres Salmos 2021 impressed for its clarity and balance – “the best yet,” Zekun said.

By contrast, 2022 and 2023 brought heat and drought challenges. Yet the Terroir al Limit Les Manyes 2022 and Alvaro Palacios’ L’Ermita 2023 remained graceful and poised. Despite early harvests, both wines retain their finesse, showing the resilience of top Priorat terroirs.

Heritage and Precision

Associate Editor Ryan Montgomery’s trip to South Australia highlighted both innovation and continuity. At The Standish Wine Company in Barossa, Dan Standish’s 2023 releases showcase site purity and finesse. The Shiraz Barossa Valley The Standish 2023 – from 1912 vines – is perfumed and seamless, while the Lamella 2023 from Eden Valley, made from 1858 plantings, offers haunting perfume, whole-cluster texture and decades of potential.

In Clare Valley, Wendouree’s Cabernet Malbec Clare Valley 2022 proves that tradition still reigns. Made from century-old, ungrafted vines, it shows plush fruit and classical restraint – a reminder that some of Australia’s greatest wines remain fiercely timeless.

In Adelaide Hills, veteran Brian Croser’s Tapanappa Chardonnay Tiers Vineyard 2024 continues to define cool-climate finesse: struck match, saline drive and thrilling energy. Croser’s connection to the Bollinger family continues through Terre à Terre and Daosa, whose 2017 Blanc de Blancs Late Disgorged displays tension and minerality after 90 months on tirage – an “Aussie fizz with a European soul.”

Elevated Elegance from China

Zekun spotlighted three outstanding chardonnays from China’s rising regions during our September tastings. From Yunnan’s Shangri-La, the Clos Mao Light 2023 was the revelation — crystalline, razor-sharp and minerally, from 2,900-meter vineyards in Jiangpo. “One of the most austere and pure chardonnays of the year,” Zekun said of it.

In Ningxia, the Legacy Peak Chardonnay Ningxia 2022 (bottled only in magnums) showed depth and composure, while the Tiansai Skyline of Gobi Chardonnay Yanqi Reserve 2023 from Xinjiang offers fine value, balancing flinty toast and saline freshness.

– 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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