The Latest Cristaldi Scores
Vintage
Wine
Color
Rating
Vintage
Wine
Color
Rating
Aged 18 months in a mix of new and used Hungarian oak, this 2021 estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Los Amigos Ranch in the Chalk Hill AVA is dark, muscular, and brooding. It boasts notes of black mulberry and dried violet, with black olive and rich cassis and cherry fruit building on the palate. Velvety, well-framed tannins form a plush carpet across the mid-palate. Always a strong value Cabernet Sauvignon, it is especially well suited to weeknight drinking.
Made by Adam Lee of Siduri fame, this wine comes from Bucher Vineyard in the Middle Reach of the Russian River Valley. It builds beautifully in the glass with vivid red fruits—raspberry and macerated cherry—alongside elegant cedarwood notes and smoky mineral nuances. Crunchy, apple-skin tannins provide attractive grip on the palate, revealing flashes of blood orange. A creamy mid-palate core makes the wine especially inviting. This is a complete, polished, and exceptionally well-built wine.
Kenneth Juhasz says he had first choice of this vineyard, blending some parcels but sourcing most of the fruit from what he calls the “Bolt Block,” a super-rocky section of the site. Made entirely from Dijon Clone 667, the wine builds in the glass with dark-fruit and cocoa nib intensity accented by elegant cedarwood notes. The texture is off the charts—velvety, silky, and satiny, nearly luscious yet still pure-fruited—finishing with an earthy richness and fruit-driven depth that complements the wine’s dark, brooding profile. Quite exceptional.
Labyrinth Vineyard lies near the town of Forestville and is planted entirely to Pommard clone, organically farmed with tight vine spacing and low yields achieved through careful thinning. The wine builds in the glass with classic Pommard character—rich cherry and spiced plum fruit layered with deep, woodsy, almost truffle-like notes and loamy earth tones. Dark cherry flavors carry across the palate, joined by earthy humus nuances in a full-bodied wine with a rich mid-palate and exceptional length. I love this wine—it’s so delicious and full-flavored.
The Savoy Vineyard bottling opens with fragrant forest berry aromatics and dark berry fruit, building on a foundation of very ripe, structured tannins. A saline-driven acid tension carries notes of blood orange and cherry, underscored by a distinct wet-slate mineral character. The site itself is rugged, and that ruggedness shows in the wine—but it remains remarkably delicious and expressive, anchored by a solid core of juicy dark berry fruit and spice. Long, layered, and generous, this was perhaps the most powerful and tannin-driven wine I tasted during my visit, yet still balanced and compelling. Aged in 60% new French oak for 15 months.
Kenneth Juhasz’s ideal approach is to pick individual Pinot Noir clones separately and co-ferment them. At Wendling Vineyard, the mix includes Calera, La Tâche, and Vosne-Romanée suitcase selections, all rooted in the far northern reaches of Anderson Valley, near the Pacific Ocean, where the Navarro River empties into the sea. The vineyard is owned by Paul Ardzrooney, who also serves as the site’s vineyard manager. The resulting wine is powerful yet refined, built around rich, dark cherry fruit and elegant brown baking-spice notes. Fresh spicebush and redwood forest nuances add aromatic depth, while the palate shows greater dimension, supported by velvety tannins and delicate floral tones that weave seamlessly through the wine. The finish is long and fruit-driven, marked by blood orange oil and expressive acid tension. It’s a big wine, but delivered with poise, elegance, and restraint.
The Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ages in 30% new French oak for 15 months, racked just once prior to bottling, with no fining or filtration. The resulting wine is robust yet balanced, marrying power and elegance with bright, crunchy red fruit layered with brown baking spices, a hint of caramel, and deep forest bark and spicebush notes. Tension builds across a luscious core of red berry fruit framed by grippy apple-skin tannins. Long and flavor-packed, the wine maintains impressive focus and energy despite its breadth and generosity on the palate. A blend of fruit from Labyrinth, Gap’s Crown, Starkey, and Balinard vineyards.
The Bacigalupi Vineyard is planted entirely to Old Wente clone, making it an easy sourcing choice for Kenneth. He notes that the site is warmer and typically the first fruit to come in—sometimes as early as late August. In 2023, he was especially pleased with the results, having picked a bit earlier. The fruit was pressed in the crush, using whole clusters with multiple press cycles, followed by a barrel selection of the native-fermented wine, which was aged for 15 months in 25–30% new French oak. The wine shows lovely, bright lemon-driven aromatics with excellent weight and tension. There’s perhaps a hint of lychee, but the profile is predominantly saline, layered with rich lemon and lime notes. Crisp orchard fruit carries through the palate, finishing long and expressive with loads of saline mineral character and vibrant freshness.
The Green Acres Vineyard bottling builds with gorgeous richness and fragrance, marked by zesty lemon and ginger, lemon oil, and a chamomile-like depth on the medium-bodied palate. A saline-driven acidity runs through the wine, carrying a subtle white pepper note and lending palpable tension throughout. The grape clusters here are notably small, likely contributing to the wine’s concentration and energy. Aged for 15 months in 30% new French oak, the oak is beautifully integrated, allowing the wine to remain balanced, focused, and vibrant from start to finish. The site, located near the town of Sonoma and owned by the Sangiacomo family, was planted in 2001 and is now more than 20 years old.
With Durell Vineyard, Kenneth Juhasz works with the flatter section of the site near the riverbed, close to the town of Sonoma. He began working with Durell in 2008, initially producing Pinot Noir from the vineyard. This wine is whole-cluster pressed, allowing for gentler extraction from the intact clusters and resulting in greater finesse. Fermentations are native and carried out cold, with no malolactic fermentation, followed by 15 months of ageing in neutral, tight-grained, light-toast French oak. The nose is supremely elegant, offering notes of lemon, anise, and sea-spray minerality. On the palate, a lovely creamy mid-palate is supported by a core of citrus-kissed acid tension, finishing with crushed-rock minerality. The wine is both generous and refined, yet remains focused, vibrant, and precise. It is a beautiful expression of this exceptional site, owned by Three Sticks Wines founder Bill Price.
In 2023, the fruit was destemmed before pressing and crushed, followed by native fermentations carried out cold, with no malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged for 15 months in neutral oak. It is strikingly aromatic and fresh, driven by floral, fragrant notes and a distinct sea-spray character. On the palate, there’s a wonderful lemon oil richness—something Kenneth attributes to the pressing style—building alongside beautifully smooth, velvety tannins. Layers of lemon zest, orange essence, and orchard fruit unfold through the mid-palate, finishing with lingering brightness and crispness from the wine’s highly expressive acidity. Importantly, that acidity is fully integrated—never sharp or jagged—resulting in a wine that feels seamless, elegant, and refined.
In general, Kenneth Juhasz’s Chardonnay wines do not undergo malolactic fermentation. He works primarily with Old Wente Clone—virus-infected, low-yielding, and later-ripening, true Old Wente material. The grapes are night-harvested and hand-picked. Kenneth explains that it’s less about stem inclusion and more about solids and trace amounts of sulfides, which he likes. Some lots see stem inclusion, while others do not. All fermentations are carried out in barrel using tight-grained, lighter-toast oak, with roughly 20% new oak for the Sonoma Coast bottling; some single-vineyard wines see no new oak at all. Ferments are native, long, and cool, generally topping out at 55–60°F, with a bit of lees stirring. As soon as the wines are dry, he keeps them cold to inhibit malolactic conversion. He believes that when working with great sites, a great clone, and exceptional fruit, this approach yields the best results. The Sonoma Coast is a blend of several single-vineyard sites, including Durell, Green Acres, and Bacigalupi. The wine is aged for 15 months in oak prior to bottling. Because it does not undergo malolactic fermentation, he uses cross-flow filtration. The finished wine is lemony-bright, packed with energy and tension. Expressive cedarwood notes mingle with lemon and lime, alongside hints of Parmesan rind that become more embedded on the palate. Orchard fruit and citrus fruit intertwine, carried by bright crushed almond and white floral notes through the finish.
The Valravn Pinot Noir opens with a sweet core of dark berry fruit, layered with subtle briary notes and forest-berry aromas that evoke the feeling of walking through a wet redwood grove. Violet florals and pops of blue fruit add aromatic lift. On the palate, there’s a welcome fruit sweetness, with the wine remaining medium-bodied, juicy, and energizing. Lifted baking spice notes, a hint of clove, and loamy earth add real complexity and depth—especially impressive for a wine that typically retails under $25.
This wine is representative of Sonoma County in a broader sense, combining fruit from the Marine Layer Vineyard with a distinctly Russian River lens. Winemaker Rob Fischer says he’s aiming to push ripeness just a touch while still retaining the lively acidity and brightness associated with Sonoma Coast fruit, with the intention of making a wine that appeals to a broader audience. To that end, the wine shows a pleasing richness from barrel fermentation and lees stirring, layered with bright citrus and underripe pineapple fruit, sweet spice, candied ginger, and lovely toasty oak notes. All of this is framed by the saline-driven acid tension typical of the Sonoma Coast, balanced by the lusher, richer fruit profile of the Russian River Valley. It’s quite delicious for the price point, especially given the quality of the vineyard sources, which include Gap’s Crown Vineyard, Heintz Vineyard, Durell Vineyard, Bohemian Vineyard, and Hawk Hill Vineyard—all top-tier sites.
Sourced from the old-block vines of Brosseau Vineyard in the Chalone AVA, these vines are roughly 30+ years old and planted to the Alban clone 877 and a so-called “Samsonite” clone, which may or may not be related to Chave material. This is a true clonal field blend, picked all together and fermented with 60% whole cluster in stainless steel. After a gentle overnight draining and very light pressing, the wine is transferred to two used 500-litre puncheons, where it ages for 11 months before racking and bottling. The nose is stunning, lifted with violets and crushed iris notes, black macerated cherry, and a savoury edge of white truffle and charcuterie. On the palate, the wine is medium- to full-bodied, showing beautiful blood-orange notes layered with black cherry. A strong underpinning of energy and tension drives the wine, supported by impressive concentration and tannins that build steadily through the long, full-bodied finish.
Hydra Red Wine is a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah, sourced from Brosseau Vineyard in the Chalone AVA. Fermentation includes 70% whole cluster and 30% destemmed whole berries, using native yeasts, followed by 10 months of ageing in neutral 500-litre oak puncheons. The wine is super-juicy, easy-drinking, vibrant, and energetic, bursting with blue fruit and exotic brown spice—what Rob Fischer aptly calls a “Christmas spice” character. Hydra is the bottling that allows Fischer to experiment freely each year, a true winemaker’s blend driven by instinct and creativity. In this vintage, the wine shows an almost carbonic lift, incredibly bright and juicy, layered with pastille-like fruit, a dusting of white pepper, and a generous, easy-going texture. Inspired by trips to Spain and the culture of effortlessly drinkable reds meant to be enjoyed over long meals—and more than one bottle—he absolutely nailed it here.
Rob Fischer’s sourcing from Gap’s Crown Vineyard includes primarily mid-slope fruit, along with a smaller portion from near the top of the site, close to the crown. That upper-elevation fruit brings a distinct brightness that complements the more blue-fruited lushness of the mid-slope blocks. In 2023, the wine is very much a crowd-pleaser, anchored by a rich mid-palate and framed by elegant cedarwood spice from 30% new French oak. Unsweetened cocoa powder tannins give shape and texture, while the long, earthy finish reveals white pepper nuances and subtle smoked paprika notes. Velvety tannins build gracefully through the close, and a lift of florality adds freshness and balance throughout.
Dutton-Upp Road Vineyard is a three-acre, southwest-facing hillside site in the heart of Green Valley, within the broader Dutton Ranch holdings. Rob Fischer holds an acreage contract here, allowing for close control over the farming of Clone 943. The clone tends to deliver a dark-fruited, juicy profile from very small berries, often with more chicks than hens, resulting in natural concentration. Whole cluster inclusion is pushed to upwards of 60% in this wine. In the glass, the wine is dynamically earthy, marked by damp forest floor and black truffle notes, framed by black tea–like tannins that bring bite and tension. Layers of black cherry, spiced plum, and brambly blackberry unfold alongside refined cedarwood, with a hint of redwood bark emerging on the long, lingering finish. Red-spice accents and vibrant red fruit carry through the close, giving the wine both power and precision.
