Sign In/Subscribe

Cristaldi Scores

Producer
Producer
More
Country
Country
More
Vintage
Vintage
More

Vintage

Wine

Color

Rating

Vintage

Wine

Color

Rating

2025

Martin Family Wineries

Riesling Nouveau

Fairly reductive, flinty notes meet a host of cheesy, leesy nuances on the palate, like biting into a hunk of Manchego or Parmigiano. That savoriness supports juicy lemon and lime citrus fruit alongside apple and pear notes. Simple and quite quaffable.

2025

Steven Kent Winery

Franc Nouveau!

This is the 2025 Cabernet Franc from Gilmetti Vineyard, bottled in 12-ounce beer bottles — a playful decision by winemaker Steven Kent, who simply pulled it from tank and bottled it at 13.5% alcohol. It is super young, youthful, unfined and unfiltered, and it smells and tastes exactly as Cabernet Franc should, with crisp tannins, clean acidity and super-juicy dark-berry fruit. It is absolutely delicious, and if you find yourself at a beer-only party, you could bring this along, pretend, and get away with it.

N/A

Brennan Vineyards

Winemaker's Choice Volume 8

The Winemaker’s Choice is a non-vintage blend consisting of 22% Malbec, 10% Carmenère, 3% Cabernet Franc, 15% Syrah, 32% Graciano, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% 2019 Tempranillo (all from the 2019 vintage); along with 4% 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% 2018 Tempranillo. This well-built red offers savory red currant fruit, charcuterie, white pepper, and dried rose petal notes. Medium-bodied with firm, grippy tannins, it lingers with plenty of savory spices.

N/A

Brennan Vineyards

Winemaker's Choice Volume 9

From Brennan Vineyards comes this dynamic non-vintage blend of 27% 2023 Syrah, 4% 2023 Ruby Cabernet, 27% 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% 2020 Tempranillo, and 21% 2020 Syrah. The wine teems with vibrant red cherry, espresso bean, leather, and tobacco notes. Full-bodied, it reveals emerging blue fruit flavors, cherry compote, and pressed violets, creating a rich and layered profile. Lively and energetic, it is framed by firm, well-integrated tannins that provide structure and balance. These non-vintage blends from Brennan Vineyards offer a unique approach to crafting wines, and it’s a style that I believe Texas producers should dig their spurs into more often.

N/A

Champagne Fluteau

Coeur de Cuvée Extra Brut

Established in 1935, a pioneer of the Côte des Bars. Vivid and alluring. Brioche and lemon pastry aromas. A gentle mousse builds with expressive minerality, tart orchard fruit, and taut acid tension. From estate-grown Pinot Noir vines on slopes of the Seine River Valley.

N/A

Champagne Fluteau

Retrospective Extra Brut

70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, disgorged in June of 2023. At 4g/L, it’s a taut, racy, electric with oyster shell minerality and a touch of pastry cream, bruised yellow apples, underripe pears, and a bone-dry finish.

N/A

Champagne Goulin-Roulet

Cuvée d’Or Brut Premier Cru

Equal parts Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Round and rich with a creaminess balanced by bracing acidity. Baked apple and buttery brioche notes. Intense mineral underpinnings. Voluptuous, succulent, and beckoning.

N/A

Champagne Monmarthe

Blanc de Noirs Les Grimpants Brut Premier Cru

Bright nectarine, pithy lime, and orange blossoms. Frothy, with saline minerals, expressive orchard fruit, pastry crust, cherry pit, and fragrant wildflowers framed by laser-like acidity. 100% Pinot Noir.

N/A

Champagne Odyssée

Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru

100% Chardonnay from Avize Grand Cru. Flinty minerals, lime blossoms, and sea spray. Round, rich, and creamy with a persistent mousse. Kiwi, key lime, and candied ginger emerge with sous bois notes. Dried apricots laced with vanilla cream add intrigue.

N/A

Champagne Paul Déthune

Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut Grand Cru

Fragrant oyster shell notes mingle with white strawberry and flinty minerals. Exuberant and creamy, with muddled red berry fruits wrapped in flaky French pastry. Energetic and racy.

N/A

Champagne Paul Déthune

Brut Grand Cru

Full-flavored, nuanced, complex, and deliciously expressive Ambonnay Grand Cru with terrific intensity balanced by fine-boned acidity. Lemon pastry, toasted almonds, and river stones meld together seamlessly.

N/A

Champagne Paul Launois

Blanc de Blancs Monochrome #5 Extra Brut Grand Cru

100% Chardonnay from a 16-acre parcel in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, adjacent to ‘Clos de Mesnil’ (a source for Krug and Salon). Zesty, energetic, leading with lemon and lime peel, dried apricots, and a beautiful earthy intensity. Voluminous with persistent bubbles, white florals, chalky minerality, and a spicy, candied ginger finish. Utterly irresistible

N/A

Champagne Paul Launois

Illustration #3 Brut Nature

100% Chardonnay from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Half 2019 harvest, half Launois reserves. Lively and elegant. Rich lemon-pastry notes, traces of vanilla and caramel, underpinnings of savory earth and spices. Fresh, forward, and inviting with remarkable depth and a bone-dry, zesty, mineral-rich finish.

N/A

Champagne Piaff

Blanc de Blanc NV

This fifth-generation producer from Épernay crafts Champagnes that undergo full malolactic fermentation. Grapes are sourced from Vitryat, and the wine spends 28 months en tirage with a dosage of 7 g/L. The nose reveals gorgeous chalky mineral notes alongside white truffle and French pastry aromas. The palate delivers a luscious, creamy mousse with rich earthy undertones, pure apricot, and white peach character, complemented by nougat and Marcona almonds. The long, satisfying finish is elevated by a pop of hazelnut. This Champagne’s style is captivating and sure to delight.

N/A

Champagne Piaff

Brut NV

This bottling is exclusively from the Vallée de la Marne, composed of 35% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier, and 35% Chardonnay. Aged 24 months en tirage with a dosage of 7 g/L, the wine is part of the Foley Family Wines & Spirits portfolio, distributed in the U.S. The dosage contributes to a rich, creamy mousse, while the wine itself is supremely elegant, offering delicate notes of white flowers, white truffle, and nougat. Medium- to full-bodied, it boasts a wet stone minerality and rich stone fruit flavors on the palate, complemented by fine baking spices and a hint of oyster shell minerality on the clean and bright finish. This fifth-generation producer from Épernay crafts Champagnes that undergo full malolactic fermentation. Grapes are sourced primarily from two regions: the Vallée de la Marne and the Vitryat.

N/A

Champagne Piaff

Brut Rosé NV

Grapes are sourced from the Vallée de la Marne, and the wine spends 24 months en tirage with a dosage of 7-8 g/L. The blend is composed of 50% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier, and 20% Chardonnay. This rosé Champagne is richly layered, offering a beautiful balance of acidity and fruit ripeness. Notes of sweet baking spices, candied melon, apricot, strawberry, and cherry fruit intertwine with cherry pit and wet slate minerality. The wine finishes with a subtle hint of nougat, adding depth and elegance. This fifth-generation producer from Épernay crafts Champagnes that undergo full malolactic fermentation.

N/A

Champagne Rémy Massin

Blanc de Noirs Tradition Brut

Alluring flinty minerals, zesty lemon, vanilla bean, and pastry puff. A beautifully rich and creamy mousse leads to mouthwatering Red Delicious apple, plum, apricot cream, and brown baking spices. Persistent with a bracing mineral tension and cheese rind nuances on the long drawn-out finish.

N/A

Champagne Victor Charlot

Instinct Premier 75/25 Brut

Intensely savory, with a briny richness balanced by honeydew melon. Expansive with a voluminous, creamy mousse. Intriguingly bright earthen notes, smoky minerals, and bracing acid tension

N/A

Champagne Victor Charlot

Les Terres de la Grève Brut

Leads with oyster shells, brine, apricot, and melon. A richness envelops the palate, layering briny salt crystals with cascading notes of pithy lime, cherry pit, and savory spices. Layered, long, and absolutely intriguing

N/A

McGrail Vineyards

Gracie Brut Sparkling Wine

This sparkling Chardonnay from Lucky 8 Vineyard was harvested in late August at approximately 17 Brix with a pH of 3.0. Fermented in stainless steel, it was then racked to neutral oak for about three months before returning to stainless for heat and cold stabilization. The wine was bottled, tirage-aged, riddled, and finished with a dosage of just 2 g/L. It boasts bright lemon citrus and apricot notes, accented by fragrant white flowers and hints of nougat. The mousse is rich and creamy yet assertive, framed by soaring acidity and a long, mineral-driven finish. Crisp, clean, and beautifully structured.

N/V

Damiani Wine Cellars

Bollicine

A dry Prosecco-style sparkler made from Cayuga White, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir, sourced from vineyards on both Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. Fermented in stainless steel and aged on the lees for eight months, it also spent an additional four months en tirage prior to disgorgement. The result is exactly what you’d hope for—light on its feet, frothy, and bursting with expressive, crunchy orchard and citrus fruit. It’s easy-drinking and refreshing, with a pleasantly bold, dry finish.

Non-vintage

Living Roots Wine & Co

Session Gold

A blend of 60% Vidal, 23% Cayuga White fermented on Aromella skins, and 15% Vidal fermented on Traminette skins, with a splash (2%) of Gewürztraminer, this is the winery’s expressive take on an orange wine. Grapes were sourced from vineyards on the west sides of Keuka and Cayuga Lakes in the Finger Lakes. Fermented wild, aged for 20 months in neutral French oak, and bottled unfined and unfiltered, the wine leads with lifted aromas of apricot, honeysuckle, kiwi, and green apple, accented by green olive savouriness. There’s racy acidity and steely tension on the finish, along with a subtle effervescence.

NV

Altus Sol

Cabernet Sauvignon

A pleasant, medium-bodied, aromatic, fruit-forward red wine, offering up ripe cherry, cranberry, and blood orange fruit, warming graham cracker crust spices, and integrated cedarwood notes, all nicely expressive on the palate, with perfect sweetly ripe fruit framed by soft, supple tannins.

NV

Altus Sol

Pinot Grigio

Tropical fruit lifts out of the glass, redolent of pineapple and white peach and jasmine florals. Lush, medium-bodied, with juicy acidity underscored by a chalky mineral character and crushed Marcona almond finish. Pinot grigio with less than a percent spalsh of Muscat for some aromatic lift.

NV

Brennan Vineyards

Winemaker's Choice / Red Blend

This non-vintage blend has no set formula or constraints from year to year, allowing the winemaker complete creative freedom—a refreshing approach that yields something unique with each release. Issued roughly every 18 months, the current bottling combines Tempranillo, Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Ruby Cabernet. The nose is bold and expressive, showing black tea, maple, toffee, espresso, a touch of meatiness, and dried violets. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate, it delivers flavors of chocolate-covered almonds and fig paste, supported by gritty tannins and a long, spicy finish marked by smoked paprika.

NV

Buttonwood Grove Winery

The Farm White

The Farm White is a blend of 70% Cayuga White, 16% Melody, and 14% Grüner Veltliner. Each variety is fermented separately in stainless steel from direct press juice, then blended in early February or March before bottling. The nose is citrus-driven with orchard fruit and a hint of jasmine, while the palate delivers a rowdy, mouth-puckering acidity and vinous energy that fuels the wine’s length.

NV

Colloca Estate Winery

Colloca Estate Winery Mindy's Giggle Juice

The nose on this effervescent rosé is utterly beguiling—fragrant jasmine and honeysuckle waft alongside candied red berry fruit, leading into a creamy, frothy mousse that’s sweet but balanced. Flavours of dried peach rings and apricot carry through the finish, making this wine as joyful as it is quaffable. The only thing giggly about it is how happy you’ll feel after polishing off the bottle. Crafted using the saignée method for color extraction, this fresh and crisp sparkler blends Riesling from the estate’s Lake Effect Vineyard, Cabernet Franc and Traminette from Miles Vineyard (all in the Finger Lakes AVA), and Cayuga White sourced from nearby Burlee Farms in New York State.

NV

Dow's

Ten Year Old Tawny Porto

This succulent, spicy 10-year is nothing if not consistent. Rich toffee and vanilla bean aromas entice, while the caramel, toasted nut, and dried fig and cherry flavors make it a perfect match for a slice of pecan pie. – J.R.

N/A

Dragonette

XX Twentieth Anniversary Cuvee Syrah

A blend of Syrah from four vintages—2019 (20%), 2020 (20%), 2021 (40%), and 2022 (20%)—this wine brings together fruit from Stolpman, Kimsey, and Larner vineyards in Ballard Canyon and John Sebastiano in the Sta. Rita Hills. The final blend is 95% Syrah, 4% Grenache, and 1% Viognier. Aged for an extended period in barrel before careful blending, this bottling pays homage to Vega Sicilia’s famed Único Reserva Especial in Ribera del Duero. The label, a commissioned artwork by artist R. Anthony Askew, adds an extra layer of thoughtfulness to an already compelling bottle. I love this wine—and you will too—because it delivers a mouthful of Syrah deliciousness, done the Santa Barbara County way. Rich, supple dark fruits meet tangy blood orange acidity and mid-palate density. The wine builds with layers of black cherry, blackberry, violets, sandalwood, and robes of dark chocolate, all weaving into a satiny sheet that glides across the palate. The multi-vintage integration is so seamless and complete, it makes you wish Dragonette would craft a wine like this year after year.

Notes from the winery on how this wine was made:

“We harvested each block in the cold morning hours, personally hand sorting in the field. The grapes were destemmed within hours then cold soaked for 2-7 days, before fermentation with native yeasts. Pumpovers, punchdowns and delestage were used to gently extract flavor, while managing tannins. At dryness, the wines were transferred to French oak barrels of various formats (500L puncheon, 400L, and 228L barrique) of which a portion is new. Each vintage included in this blend was itself a blend of the best barrels for that given season. Each component vintage was aged separately with a range from 26 to 62 months in barrel, with an average age of 42.8 months in barrel. In honor of our 20th Anniversary, the wine was bottled in January of 2025.”

NV

Hermann J Wiemer Vineyard

Extra Brut

Non-vintage méthode traditionnelle sparkling made from 100% Riesling, riddled and disgorged by hand after 18 months en tirage. Dosage is 5 g/L. This is razor-sharp and brilliantly focused, driven by crystalline acidity and ripe, succulent orchard fruit. The rich, frothy mousse fills the palate, resolving into a stark, mineral finish brimming with energy and tension. Delicious.

1 2 3 4 … 54 55 56

Vintage

Wine

Type

Color

Rating

$

2023

Producer

Name

Becker’s Reserve Chardonnay is sourced from Canada Family Vineyards in Plains, near the New Mexico border, and Tallent Vineyards in Mason within the Texas Hill Country AVA. Fermented and aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak, it’s a lush, full-bodied, and supple Chardonnay built on a rich, toasty oak profile—more buttered croissant than dark toast. Layers of apricot cream, pineapple crème brûlée, and salted lemon unfold across the palate, leading to a lemon curd finish. Generous yet balanced throughout.

2023

Producer

Name

The “Jolie” Rosé from Becker Vineyards is a vibrant wine that feels like a fruit salad in the glass with notes of strawberry, watermelon, white peach, and a touch of spring flowers. Medium-bodied with lasting richness and tension, this rosé is both approachable and layered. The surprise comes on the finish, where subtle hints of white pepper and coriander cream await.

2023

Producer

Name

This blend of 95% Montepulciano with about 1.5% each of Tempranillo, Dolcetto, and Barbera was aged for 16 months in neutral French and American oak barrels. The wine is meaty and medium-bodied, offering dark chocolate–covered cherry fruit, loamy earth, violets, and maple-cured bacon notes. Soft, supple tannins frame a sweet-fruited finish laced with brown spice.

2023

Producer

Name

A darker‑styled Pinot Noir from this producer, the 2023 Above the Clouds from Benmar opens with the juicy richness of black cherry and black raspberry, warmed by cedarwood spice and enlivened by tangerine peel and grapefruit zest. The nose deepens with crushed raspberry, wild cherry and pomegranate, offset by wild herbs, rose petal and forest‑floor. On the palate, sinewy, crisp tannins support a saline‑tinged core that pulses with redcurrant, cranberry and strawberry fruit. Intense minerality and a whisper of black tea anchor the mid‑palate, while the finish drifts into cocoa‑powder, conifer and lingering brine—a hauntingly savory, vibrant expression of high‑elevation Willamette Pinot.

2023

Producer

Name

100% Albariño from Sawmill Creek Vineyards. Still a rarity in the Finger Lakes, this wine showcases lime-bright aromatics and a zesty spine of acidity. Light-bodied and energetic, it delivers a core of citrus fruit wrapped in chalky minerality, finishing with a persistent lime zest snap.

2023

Producer

Name

100% Vignoles from Hunt Country Vineyards in Branchport, NY. A lush, tropical white with ripe mango and papaya aromas, lifted by honeysuckle florals. The palate is generous and juicy, finishing with impressive length.

2023

Producer

Name

100% Cabernet Franc from Sawmill Creek Vineyards in Hector, NY. Aged for nine months in 4–5-year-old French oak barrels. This is an elegant, red-fruited expression of Cabernet Franc, layered with notes of espresso bean, brown spice, and a zesty infusion of tangerine and grapefruit. A stony minerality anchors the palate.

2023

Producer

Name

65% Grüner Veltliner and 35% Cayuga White. Filtered and force-carbonated the week before bottling on May 2, 2024. Crisp, clean, and refreshing with crunchy green apple, citrusy lift, and a saline-acid tension that makes it an ideal match for charcuterie and cheese.

2023

Producer

Name

The 2023 Windmill from Bingham Family Vineyards is crafted entirely from Texas High Plains grapes and aged for six months in French oak. This intriguing wine begins with subtle stone and orchard fruit notes, accompanied by a delicate hint of nuttiness.On the palate, it evolves with a medium- to full-bodied presence, offering lush fruit character and a touch of sweetness. Its unique profile makes it a versatile choice, pairing beautifully with peach cobbler or enjoyed on its own with a good chill.

2023

Producer

Name

Anne Moller-Racke planted this vineyard with the intention of making one wine — and she produces just over 300 cases of this estate bottling. Clone 115 brings lift and perfume, Swan Clone contributes texture, and Clone 667 layers in tannin and structure. The site itself is flat, and the wine’s dimension comes from the interplay of these clones. It sits on an old riverbed with abundant gravel, and that drainage, Moller-Racke says, gives the wine its added structure and tannic frame. The wine is dense and powerful, with ripe cherry and strawberry fruit that’s very pure and beautifully delineated. A mineral intensity runs straight through it, and the tannins are crisp and robust, building across the floral and earthy finish. Quite a wine.

2023

Producer

Name

This is a light, bright, zippy Chardonnay, boasting Sonoma Coast sea-spray minerality, subtle lemon and lime citrus, white flowers, and unsalted, unroasted almonds with a touch of almond-skin grip. There’s plenty of tension to carry this medium-bodied white well into the night or through a long meal, while a hint of sea grass and vanilla rounds it all out.

2023

Producer

Name

The Farmhouse Estate Pinot lifts from the glass with a fragrant wet-slate character, followed by cherry and raspberry fruit. Firm tannins anchor a deep mineral core redolent of iron and salt, while dried thyme and rosemary add intrigue. A subtle sappy quality threads through the palate, making the wine quietly thought-provoking. The finish is spicy and insistent — the kind that makes you pause and wonder what’s going on in the glass, in the world, in your own life. And honestly? That’s a fine way to spend an evening, especially with a glass of this nearby.

2023

Producer

Name

Gap’s Crown is fermented in stainless steel and aged in up to 50% new French oak for as long as 17 months. Anne Moller-Racke buys from two blocks: Block 13, planted to Clone 777 on the lower, gravelly portion of the site where it’s cooler with some clay and dense spacing, and the vines are now over 20 years old; and Block 8, planted to Clone 667 at a higher elevation in a smaller parcel. There are wonderfully cool aromas coming off this wine — bright cherry, cranberry, and a white-plum note, with a touch of white pepper spice. The palate is quite delicious, packed with juicy dark berry fruit, Asian spices, clove, and cocoa powder, framed by crisp tannins. It carries real generosity and elegance, all supported by a powerful framework and some lingering cedarwood spice. Super youthful now, and poised to deliver beautifully over the next 5–15 years.

2023

Producer

Name

This site sits at 1,000 feet of elevation, across from the Failla Vineyard, with vines rooted in Goldridge soils. The wine is incredibly beautiful — the aromatics are gorgeous, with dark blackberry and plum, plus flashes of blue fruit. It’s immensely generous. Made from two clones, Bacigalupi and the Hyde/Calera selection, it shows brilliant lift and clarity. On the palate, there’s great wet-slate minerality, fragrant cocoa-nib notes, and a real saline–acid freshness. All that ripe, juicy, complex fruit stains the palate and drives into a full-bodied finish with exacting, building tannins. Super intensity.

2023

Producer

Name

Winemaker Anne Moller-Racke has worked with this fruit since 2013. She doesn’t put it through malolactic fermentation—she likes acid. She gets around four tons of a single clone and uses Montrachet plus another yeast to layer in freshness and a touch of reductive edge, with partial fermentation in concrete and one-third in new French oak. Absolutely drop-dead gorgeous Chardonnay. It’s bright, vivid, electric—full of sea-spray minerality, cool wet river stones, crushed Marcona almonds, and white-flower notes, lifted by tangerine peel and lemon verbena freshness. It’s so layered and captivating. The wine is stirred early and left on primary lees until bottling, adding fantastic baking-spice depth framed by crisp, crunchy acidity.

2023

Producer

Name

From Laceroni Vineyard—situated in the far-southwestern reaches of the Russian River Valley near Graton and spanning roughly 45 acres on classic, well-draining Goldridge sandy loam—comes a more structured and grippier expression of RRV Pinot Noir. The site’s softly rolling hills and coastal influence help produce fruit of refined ripeness: crisp, crunchy and beautifully poised. That energy carries straight onto the palate, where apple-skin tannins and notable textural grip give the wine tension and shape. Subtle brown baking spices and flinty wet-stone minerality add further dimension, supporting the elegant red-berry profile without overwhelming it. Quite a lovely wine with genuine cellar-worthy capability.

Vintage

Wine

Type

Rating

$

2023

2023 Becker Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve

-

$

2023

2023 Becker Vineyards Jolie Rose

Still

$

2023

2023 Becker Vineyards Montepulciano

-

$

2023

2023 Benmar Above the Clouds Pinot Noir

Still Wine

$

2023

2023 Billsboro Winery Albariño

Still Wine

$

2023

2023 Billsboro Winery Apres

Still Wine

$

2023

2023 Billsboro Winery Cabernet Franc

Still Wine

$

2023

2023 Billsboro Winery Saluti

Sparkling Wine

$

2023

2023 Bingham Family Vineyards Windmill Oaked White Wine

Still Wine

$

2023

2023 Blue Farm Anne Katherina Pinot Noir

Still Wine

$$

2023

2023 Blue Farm Chardonnay

Still Wine

$$

2023

2023 Blue Farm Farmhouse Pinot Noir

Still Wine

$$

2023

2023 Blue Farm Gap’s Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir

Still Wine

$$

2023

2023 Blue Farm King Ridge Pinot Noir

Still Wine

$$$

2023

2023 Blue Farm Laceroni Chardonnay

Still Wine

$$

2023

2023 Blue Farm Laceroni Pinot Noir

Still Wine

$$

MAILING LIST

The only email you want to open

  • Podcast Drops
  • New Reports
  • Latest Scores