The Latest Cristaldi Scores
Vintage
Wine
Color
Rating
Vintage
Wine
Color
Rating
The 2022 Ranger Hays is a blend of 74% Malbec, 14% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from vineyards across the Texas High Plains and Texas Hill Country. Aged for 24 months in 25% new French and American oak, it’s a savory, medium-bodied red showing notes of dark olive, loamy earth, iron, and crushed rock. Velvety tannins carry through to a starker, mineral-driven finish.
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.
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.
Grown by Friesen Vineyards and aged for 22 months in 45% new French oak, this full-bodied, robust red is deeply fruited and richly textured. Aromas of cedarwood, sage, and tobacco lead into a palate of dark cherry and strawberry layered with leather and loamy earth. The finish shows dried cherry and a lingering dusting of cocoa nib.
Grown by Friesen Vineyards and aged for 22 months in 40% new French oak, this Cabernet Sauvignon is bold, rich, and unmistakably Texan in style. “Everyone wants a Cab and a slab here in the Hill Country,” Ron Yates tells me. In the glass, it unfolds with aromas of blackberry, red currant, cassis, and cedarwood, accented by mild Indian spice. Medium- to full-bodied, it offers supple, satiny tannins and a dark-fruited, mineral-rich finish.
Grown by Friesen Vineyards and aged for 15 months in 35% new French oak, this Cabernet Franc comes from Ron Yates Winery, which opened in 2016 following the Yates family’s purchase of Spicewood Vineyards in 2007. With nearly two decades of experience in grape growing and winemaking in the Texas Hill Country, the team delivers a polished expression of the variety. The wine is driven by dark cherry and currant fruit layered with notes of sagebrush and prairie grass. On the palate, it shows a lean, iron-like crushed stone minerality, cedarwood spice, and supple, building tannins that carry through a long, smoky paprika finish.
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.
This 100% Viognier was fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel, resulting in a wine with rich floral aromatics and subtle honeyed undertones. Creamy orchard fruit flavors come together beautifully on the light- to medium-bodied palate, framed by zesty acidity and an unctuous, fruit-driven finish. In other words, it’s effortlessly crushable. Sourced from Diamonte Doble and Bingham Family Vineyards.
Aged for 14 months in 20% new French oak. Sourced from S & C Newsome Vineyards in the Texas High Plains, this Montepulciano exemplifies McPherson’s hallmark consistency of quality and style from vintage to vintage. It offers tart cherry fruit, cedarwood, and a subtle meaty nuance, all unfolding across a medium-bodied palate with velvety tannins and lingering black tea notes on the finish.
A heady mix of red and black fruit unfolds with rich cedarwood spice, building through cocoa powder tannins and crunchy red fruit accented by warm Indian spices on the mid-palate, carrying through to the full-bodied finish. Winemaker Jason Englert oversees an 80,000 case production across all Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars and Invention Vineyards).
This wine shows a dark-fruited nose with loamy earth and blue fruit so characteristic of this area. Wonderful dark forest and savory tones mingle with dark chocolate notes, while firm, fine-grained tannins build through the full-bodied finish. Winemaker Jason Englert oversees an 80,000 case production across all Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars and Invention Vineyards).
This is one fantastic rosé—extremely balanced with great nervy tension, tart red berry fruit, and a kiss of wild herb and prairie grass. Luscious notes of apricot and white peach mingle with subtle rose petal florals. Totally delicious and utterly crushable. Winemaker Jason Englert oversees an 80,000 case production across all Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars and Invention Vineyards).
From Lahey Vineyards in the Texas High Plains, this wine was fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel, and it’s a tasty one. It’s crisp, crunchy, bright, and energetic, with plenty of lemon-lime citrus fruit and white floral notes accented by a touch of flinty minerality on the lengthy finish. A fleshy character rounds out the mid-palate, making it an ideal aperitivo wine. Beautifully balanced. Kuhlman Estate, now known as K Estate, was acquired by Brian Heath in the summer of 2024. Winemaker Jason Englert oversees an 80,000 case production across all Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars and Invention Vineyards).
This wine comes from the 8-acre K Estate site in the Texas Hill Country and shows lemon-bright aromas with notes of lemon verbena, a saline-scented acidity, and wet stone minerality that carry through to the medium-bodied finish. Winemaker Jason Englert oversees an 80,000 case production across all Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars and Invention Vineyards).
This one-off bottling from K Estate “bridges” two vintages, so if you can find it, grab it. The 2023 season was hot and dry, with Brix levels rising quickly—many wines ended up tart or unbalanced, but not this one. It’s beautifully composed, with ripe fruit and a spicy herbal edge layered over volcanic earth tones. Subtle sweetness from barrel aging rounds out the palate, leading to a nicely balanced finish. Winemaker Jason Englert oversees an 80,000 case production across all Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars and Invention Vineyards).
This is a well-built wine from estate vineyard fruit, showing tart cherry, subtle cedarwood, and tobacco notes with cocoa powder tannins framed by saline-driven acidity and crushed volcanic minerality. Everything comes together beautifully in this medium-bodied wine with a zesty, acid-driven finish. Winemaker Jason Englert oversees an 80,000 case production across all Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars and Invention Vineyards).
The Mourvèdre is sourced from Lahey Vineyards in the Texas High Plains and was fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel, giving it a bright, crisp character. It’s full-flavored, showing ripe, sweet red berry fruit and hints of prairie grass over a lush core, supported by a juicy spine of blood orange acidity. The finish is long and subtly tropical, adding an intriguing layer to this vibrant red. Winemaker Jason Englert oversees an 80,000 case production across all Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars and Invention Vineyards).
This Cabernet Sauvignon is medium-bodied, showing red currant fruit and black tea notes layered with sagebrush. Superfine tannins provide a solid foundation for this tangy, zesty, blood-orange-fueled red, which finishes with savory black olive and black truffle charcuterie nuances. Winemaker Jason Englert oversees an 80,000 case production across all Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars and Invention Vineyards).
The Conflation Red is a bold, dark-fruited wine with muscular tannins and appealing iron-stone mineral tension at mid-palate. Ripe currant and cassis emerge on the medium- to full-bodied finish, joined by lingering notes of dark fig and subtle underbrush. Nicely put together and easily crushable. Winemaker Jason Englert oversees an 80,000 case production across all Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars and Invention Vineyards).
The Soleluce is a crunchy, red-fruited, zesty wine with rich forest berry and underbrush notes in a medium-bodied expression. Currant fruit and subtle tobacco spice nuances carry through to the fine finish. Winemaker Jason Englert oversees an 80,000 case production across all Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Jenblossom Cellars and Invention Vineyards).
