Red

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#68 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2025

90 points Wine Spectator
Ripe with cherry, this is juicy and pure, showing accents of earth and leafy underbrush. Winds down leisurely, with balance, a firm edge and fine length. Drink now through 2028.

Nice sour cherries with a streak of white pepper and violets. Medium-bodied, but fleshy. Ripe, almost creamy tannins extend to the finish, but are still juicy and vibrant. Not complex, but so balanced and easy to drink. Drink now.

91 points Wine Advocate
The Marchesi Antinori 2023 Bolgheri Rosso Guado al Tasso Il Bruciato is an easy blend of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The 2023 vintage reveals a more powerful and riper character compared to 2022. Baked flavors do come through in this latest vintage with prune and cooked plum. But you also get added sweetness from the barrel aging that imparts dustings of cinnamon and nutmeg. The tannins are soft and accessible.

The review is on the previous vintage.

94 points Wine Advocate
I also tasted the 2022 Anza where he added the grapes of one more plot in Laguardia. The wine has his house style of elegance, subtleness and nuance; it's clean and precise and does not show any heat or oak. It's seamless, bright and velvety. Delicious. 23,420 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2023.

Diego Magaña purchased another two plots to make one hectare in the zone of San Martín, planted with 80-year-old vines and in Villalba on stony soils, where the plants are 50 years of age. He's now thinking about organic certification, as he has not used any systemic treatments since 2020, and the vines are herbicide free. He's one of the more precise, new young producers in Rioja (and Bierzo), his wines are elegant and clean in the best modern style you can think of.

• Mostly Tempranillo with some Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo, Viura and Malvasía Riojana
• 30 to 50+-year-old bushvines in pure limestone soils
• Fermented with indigenous yeast in open-top wood vats with whole bunches as vintage allows
• Raised for about a year in one 4,000L tina and 225L barrels, all used

Winemaker Notes:
"Apothic Red reveals intense fruit aromas and flavors of rhubarb and black cherry, complemented by hints of mocha, chocolate, brown spice and vanilla. The plush, velvety mouthfeel and the smooth finish round out this intriguing, full-bodied red blend."

Inspired by the "Apotheca", a mysterious place where wine was blended and stored in 13th century Europe, Apothic Red offers a truly unique wine experience.

The brambly spice of Zinfandel, dark fruit flavors of Syrah, the bold notes of Cabernet Sauvignon and the smooth elegance of Merlot unite to create this captivating red blend.

Organic / Natural

93 points Wine Spectator
Blackberry paste, black plum skin and ripe black cherry flavors are brightened by tangy blood orange peel acidity in this minerally red. Sleek and well-structured, with sculpted tannins firming the well-spiced and floral finish. Drink now through 2033.

Winemaker Notes:
"An intense nose, dominated by red fruit, with spices and some oak notes; a round and supple wine with well knit tannins on the palate."

93 points Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Zinfandel Old Vine was raised in 600-gallon foudre with a small proportion (8%) in new oak, and it’s roughly 90% Zinfandel along with an eclectic field mix. The nose opens to bright peppery spice, fresh cut flowers, and black raspberries, with deeper notes of fresh sanguine earth coming through. The palate is full-bodied yet restrained, with a detailed structure and length with a mountainous feel. It’s a great lens into the range they produce here at Bedrock and a tremendous value. Drink 2025-2032

From winemaker and Master of Wine, Morgan Twain-Peterson.

Organic

Crafted by Brianne Day. 100% Pinot Noir from organically farmed vineyards within the Willamette Valley. The majority of the blend is from Finnigan Hill Vineyard – a higher elevation site in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. Other vineyard sources include Yamhill Springs Vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, as well as Roshni and Cassin Vineyards in McMinnville AVA. Fermented with native yeasts and matured in neutral French oak

Winemaking Notes:
Beringer Bros. Cabernet Sauvignon is picked at the peak of flavor development from top sites across California and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. 20% of the wine is aged for 60 days in second-pass charred American Oak barriques which previously held Bourbon.

Tasting Notes:
This wine is bursting with aromas of ripe black cherry, dark chocolate, and vanilla. The palate is lush with ripe tannins and and integrated acidity, showcasing toasted hazelnuts, toffee, and blackberry preserves on the finish.

A balanced, light-bodied red, with flavors of plumped cherry, strawberry paste, cured tobacco and tangerine peel layered with light, creamy tannins. 80% Corvina Veronese, 20% Rondinella. 12% abv

90 points Vinous
The 2023 Pinot Noir is an absolute delight. Aromatic and light on its feet, it offers up generous crushed red berry fruit, orange peel, mint and hints of spice. This mid-weight, vibrant Pinot offers tons of San Luis Obispo Coast character—it’s a great value, too.

A fruity red with aromas of cherries, raspberries, dried flowers, cinnamon and vanilla. Medium-bodied with soft tannins. Creamy, soft and round. Supple finish.

Winemaker Notes:
The grapes come from vineyards, 30-40 years old, with yields of 2T/Ha and located high on the hillsides, 700-900 metres above sea level. The vineyards are planted in mainly decomposed slate and gravely clay soils. The fermentation was carried out in small stainless steel tanks for 15 days at temperetures below 27ºC, and then spent a short period of two months in French oak barrels.
It exhibits greater aromatic complexity, richness with mineral and blueberry notes leading to a savory and spicy wine nicely balanced and very easy to drink.

Food Pairing:
Pair with rice, pasta (noodles, spaghetti, macaroni), white and blue fish, goat cheese, cold meat, vegetables, lentil soup, peas,
mushroom, beef, chicken, roast meat, red and white grill meat.

Tasting Notes:
Color of intense dark cherry with a violet edge. Intense nose, dominated by ripe red fruits, raspberry, currant, together with balsamic and mineral notes. Powerful in the mouth, full-bodied, pleasantly tannic and fruity with a light spice on the finish.

Organic / Biodynamic

The oak is very integrated and neatly folded into the fruit. A nicely balanced wine which is very fruit driven with chalky fine-grained tannins. The palate is medium to full-bodied with notes of ripe berries and herbs with a spicy twist.

Organic / Biodynamic

94 points Wine Advocate
The 2023 La Casilla fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts in 4,500-liter oak vats and matured in those vats and some 600-liter barrels for nine months. It has incredible freshness, 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.6 and 5.5 grams of acidity. It's complex and serious, a lot more complex than Clos Lojen, despite the small price difference, and it has notes of berries, herbs and flowers, plenty of aromatic Mediterranean herbs and very good freshness and acidity, fine tannins and very good overall balance, ideal with food. It's serious but easy to drink. It's more Rhone than Burgundy. It was bottled in June 2024 and 15,000 bottles were produced. I tasted a bottle of the 2005, their first vintage, and the wine was fully mature, even if the style was different (it has 14.5% alcohol), more extractive and with more oak.

Winemaker Notes:
"Cherry colour with garnet rim, bright and intense. Red fruit expression, powerful, elegant, dry stone, coca bean, creamy oak, hints of spices. Powerful, flavourful, fruity, good acidity, smoky aftertaste, toasty, long finish."

In 1927, a group of 15 vine-growers banded together to create the Cooperativa Ribera del Duero (which translates as "Bank of the Duero River"). They were the first to make a wine called "Ribera del Duero", and as regional pioneers, eventually gave their name to the DO when it was created in 1982. Generations later, this cooperative is producing some of the most highly acclaimed wines in Spain under the name "Protos", meaning "First" in Greek.

In 2008, Protos reached another milestone with the completion of its state-of-the-art winery by renowned British architect Richard Rogers. A modern architectural gem, the winery is built into the mountain just beneath Penafiel Castle, at once complementing and contrasting the ancient landmark.

LOCATION OF VINEYARD
Protos has two wineries in the heart of the Ribera del Duero: Penafiel (near Valladolid) and Anguix (near Burgos). Their third winery, La Seca, is where they make Verdejo in the neighboring Rueda DO near Valladolid. Protos owns 100 hectares of vineyards around its wineries and has partnerships with several local growers who supply additional grapes.

WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY
Protos has the unique distinction of offering wines from two DOs, producing fresh, aromatic Verdejos from Rueda in addition to varietal Tempranillos from Ribera del Duero. Harvesting is entirely manual, and production is gathered in 20-kilogram boxes (just over 44 pounds) to aid in ensuring only completely healthy, whole grapes reach the fermentation tanks. Protos has also implemented an extensive R&D program to test the effects of different types of barrels on its wines.

In both DOs, Protos leverages its generations of winemaking experience, cutting-edge technology, and philosophy of "Quality above all" to produce exceptional wines.

Jose Serrano Carlos Guzman graduated from the L??Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique in Montpellier, France, with a degree in viticulture. Following graduation, he served as winemaker and technical director at several estates, including Bodega Cooperative de Morales de Toro (DO Toro), Bodegas Marques de Riscal (DO Rueda), and finally Bodegas Roqueta (DO Pla de Bages). He became Winemaker Director at Bodegas Protos in 1999.

The deep ruby color indicates a luxe complexity, while aromas of black cherry, cassis and rich earth are abundant in this classic Cabernet Sauvignon. On entry, currants and black plums generously lead to a plush mouthfeel. There are ample tannins carrying the fruit to the long lingering finish. Aging for 12 months in 1-year-old American oak barrels created notes of baking spices, nutmeg and hints of caramel. - Winery

Organic

Grab your red and white checkered tablecloth, your spaghetti marinara, and your date for Friday night. This is the ideal red-sauce joint rosso from Sicily. When we were coming up in the biz, those old-school Chiantis used to be the go-to wines for our Billy Joel "Italian Restaurant" wine, but today this suits the bill perfectly for your inexpensive red for red sauce. - PJ

Winemaker Notes:
"Intense ruby red color with violet nuances; intense, characteristic bouquet of the primary grape aromas; fruity component, fullbodied and robust, well-balanced with tannin and oak features"

97 points Vinous
The 2023 Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard is outrageously beautiful. Heady and explosive in the glass, the 2023 screams with character. Crushed berries, blood orange, mint, cinnamon, pomegranate and dried herbs all soar from the glass. This understated yet deeply expressive Zinfandel is quite simply lights-out. As always, a healthy amount of mixed blacks (13%) adds character.

96 points Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the Russian River Valley, the 2023 Zinfandel Piner-Olivet Ranches is a saturated red color and amplifies things with its more forward, layered feel, offering aromas of kirsch, bright pepper spice, cedar, and fresh flowers .The acidity shines through more vibrantly compared to the Sonoma Valley wines, with a more electric feel, ripe tannins, and a long finish. It reminds me of great Barbera, retaining both ripeness and vibrant acidity. It’s a tremendous vintage of this wine to drink over the coming 12-15 years.

Iconic Montalcino producer Castello Banfi leases 42 acres in the Chianti Classico commune of Castellina in Chianti for its Fonte alla Selva label. The estate also has long-term contracts to purchase wines from three to four producers for this Chianti Classico. A selection is made between the lots for the Chianti Classico and the riserva before blending, aging and bottling in Banfi’s cellars in Montalcino. The wine is aged for a total of 12 months, seven to eight in stainless-steel tanks before racking into 6,000- to 9,000-liter oak casks. Banfi has permission to age and bottle its Chianti Classico outside the zone because former winemaker Ezio Rivella grew grapes in Chianti Classico beginning in the early 1980s

A fragrant nose full of vivid strawberries and sweet cherries. Tight and lightly chewy on the palate with plenty of fruit. Juicy, balanced and quite drinkable.

Blend: 75% Malbec, 18% Bonarda, 7% Petit Verdot

#51 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2025

92 points Wine Spectator
A rock-solid Cab, offering a steady beam of warmed cassis and cherry reduction notes laced with a loamy accent to keep everything grounded. Dark tobacco and a flash of walnut husk add range through the finish, which hasn’t fully unwound just yet. Best from 2026 through 2036

A small release from Caymus Vineyards, this wine is a California-appellation Cabernet Sauvignon – supple, dark and rich, bearing the signature hallmarks of Caymus. It is sourced from sites throughout the state which feature climatic conditions, soils and topography that are ideally suited to Cabernet. This project stems from excitement over California's diverse vineyard land, often in lesser-known areas, with the potential to produce exceptional Cabernet.-Winemaker Notes

Winemaker Notes:
"Caymus has a signature style that is dark in color, with rich fruit and ripe, velvety tannins - as approachable in youth as in maturity. We farm Cabernet grapes in eight of Napa?????s 16 sub-appellations, with diversification enabling us to make the best possible wine in a given year. Our Cabernet offers layered, lush aromas and flavors, including cocoa, cassis and ripe dark berries."

96+ points Wine Advocate
Cesar's 2023 El Rapolao was sourced from a centenary plot in the coldest part of the village, where the soils are rich in iron and organic matter. It fermented with 30% full clusters in small 1,000-liter vats, with a short maceration of 17 days and an elevage in used 500-liter oak barrels. It comes in at 12.75% alcohol, a pH of 3.58 and 5.38 grams of acidity, with lower alcohol and more freshness and acidity than the previous vintage. This is a place with more rusticity, always a little earthier, with slightly dusty tannins. 1,911 bottles were filled in May 2025.

Cesar Marquez Perez, Raul Perez's nephew, is one of the most precise winemakers in Bierzo with the family Castro Ventosa range and his personal project, which he started in 2015. In the 2023 vintage, he is releasing a new wine from the Villegas area, a lieu-dit in Valtuille on sandy soils. The single-vineyard wines are aging in increasingly larger oak containers, combining 1,200-liter vats with 500- and 600-liter barrels. He owns 7.2 hectares and works a further seven with local growers across Bierzo, from altitudes ranging between 450 to 850 meters above sea level. His production is slowly growing, and he now crafts 60,000 bottles per year.

As he told me while tasting the wines from the family winery, Castro Ventosa, which he also vinifies, "2023 was a cooler vintage with rain at the beginning of the harvest. The wines have a floral, serious and elegant profile with a contained alcohol content of 12.5% to 13%." These are some of the finest and more elegant wines he has produced so far.

95 points Wine Advocate
The white Godello 2023 La Salvacion was produced with grapes from a one-hectare centenary plot in Arganza, the northernmost and cooler village in Bierzo, a plot on clay and slate that was regrafted from Mencia some 20 years ago. The destemmed grapes were pressed in a pneumatic press, and the juice fermented in 500-liter oak barrels after setting for 24 hours. It matured in those barrels for one year, with the lees but without batonnage. It has 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.07 and 7.25 grams of acidity, meaning good ripeness and very good freshness and acidity. It's vibrant and very tasty, piercing and pungent, with a nice compromise between power and elegance. It's more direct, sharp and tasty but with restraint; it takes time to open up in the glass. 6,700 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2025.

Cesar Marquez Perez, Raul Perez's nephew, is one of the most precise winemakers in Bierzo with the family Castro Ventosa range and his personal project, which he started in 2015. In the 2023 vintage, he is releasing a new wine from the Villegas area, a lieu-dit in Valtuille on sandy soils. The single-vineyard wines are aging in increasingly larger oak containers, combining 1,200-liter vats with 500- and 600-liter barrels. He owns 7.2 hectares and works a further seven with local growers across Bierzo, from altitudes ranging between 450 to 850 meters above sea level. His production is slowly growing, and he now crafts 60,000 bottles per year.

As he told me while tasting the wines from the family winery, Castro Ventosa, which he also vinifies, "2023 was a cooler vintage with rain at the beginning of the harvest. The wines have a floral, serious and elegant profile with a contained alcohol content of 12.5% to 13%." These are some of the finest and more elegant wines he has produced so far.

94 points Wine Advocate
The 2023 Parajes is his regional red, a blend of different places, soils, expositions and altitudes (between 450 and 780 meters above sea level). It's a real representation of El Bierzo, with grapes from 45 different plots in nine villages. The vines range in age from 80 to 142 years of old and are planted with field blends - approximately 85% Mencia, 10% Alicante Bouschet and 5% other white and red varieties like Bastardo, Souson and Estaladina. There are always some full clusters, depending on vintage and plot, and part of the wine ferments in stainless steel and part of it is in bins, as he ferments by plot. The wine matured in 225-, 400- and 500-liter oak barrels for one year. It has moderate ripeness and 13.08% alcohol, a pH of 3.58 and 5.34 grams of acidity, making it lower in alcohol than the 2022 and with more freshness. It's serious and balanced, elegant and fine-boned. It gets very close to the village red this year. This is a bargain. 34,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2025.

Cesar Marquez Perez, Raul Perez's nephew, is one of the most precise winemakers in Bierzo with the family Castro Ventosa range and his personal project, which he started in 2015. In the 2023 vintage, he is releasing a new wine from the Villegas area, a lieu-dit in Valtuille on sandy soils. The single-vineyard wines are aging in increasingly larger oak containers, combining 1,200-liter vats with 500- and 600-liter barrels. He owns 7.2 hectares and works a further seven with local growers across Bierzo, from altitudes ranging between 450 to 850 meters above sea level. His production is slowly growing, and he now crafts 60,000 bottles per year.

As he told me while tasting the wines from the family winery, Castro Ventosa, which he also vinifies, "2023 was a cooler vintage with rain at the beginning of the harvest. The wines have a floral, serious and elegant profile with a contained alcohol content of 12.5% to 13%." These are some of the finest and more elegant wines he has produced so far.

97 points Wine Advocate
The 2023 Pico Ferreira comes from a lieu-dit in the village of Corullon, a northwest-facing, shady slope planted with centenary vines on slate soils. It fermented with 30% full clusters and indigenous yeasts in 1,000-liter vats with 21 days of maceration and matured in a 1,200-liter oak vat and 600-liter barrels for one year. This is a little more discrete and remained closed after being in the glass for a while, whereas the other wines opened up. It comes in at 12.98% alcohol, with a pH of 3.57 and 5.36 grams of acidity, with abundant, slightly dusty tannins. 1,980 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2025.

Cesar Marquez Perez, Raul Perez's nephew, is one of the most precise winemakers in Bierzo with the family Castro Ventosa range and his personal project, which he started in 2015. In the 2023 vintage, he is releasing a new wine from the Villegas area, a lieu-dit in Valtuille on sandy soils. The single-vineyard wines are aging in increasingly larger oak containers, combining 1,200-liter vats with 500- and 600-liter barrels. He owns 7.2 hectares and works a further seven with local growers across Bierzo, from altitudes ranging between 450 to 850 meters above sea level. His production is slowly growing, and he now crafts 60,000 bottles per year.

As he told me while tasting the wines from the family winery, Castro Ventosa, which he also vinifies, "2023 was a cooler vintage with rain at the beginning of the harvest. The wines have a floral, serious and elegant profile with a contained alcohol content of 12.5% to 13%." These are some of the finest and more elegant wines he has produced so far.

Organic

•Certified organic
•100% Cabernet Franc
•A single site on a plateau at 60m altitude
•Grown on silt sandstone and yellow limestone
•40+ year old vines
•Indigenous yeast
•Aged in older 6000L barrels for 12 months

Third place finisher in our 2025 Wine Of The Year blind taste-off!

Organic / Biodynamic

A truly transporting wine with beautiful dark, spicy fruits, classic garrigue aromas and flavors of wild Provencale herbs. Would be an amazing pairing with roasted lamb or anything on the grill. Provence in a glass!

60% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 10% old vine Carignan and Mourvedre. Sixty acres of terraced vineyards surrounding the property. Average vine age is 30 years old. East-west exposure on northern slopes on clay-limestone. Biodynamically farmed, all grapes hand-harvested. Traditional vinification methods are used with indigenous yeasts and fermented in stainless steel. Aged in large foudres.

Nestled in the hills just below the spectacular perched village of Bonnieux, this idyllic property is run by Jean-Pierre and Martine Margan. The building is from the 17th century and has been inhabited ever since. Springing from the hill is a very strong fountain which supplies abundant amounts of water in even the driest years and the rolling hills behind the property are covered with grape vines, truffle oak trees and 200 year old cherry trees. The Margans know that they have something very special going, and their approach to viticulture reflects this. The sixty acres of terraced vineyards surrounding the property are farmed organically and biodynamically and the average age of the vines is over thirty years old. In the last few years, Canorgue’s wine has become incredibly popular in Europe, and this was only intensified when the region around this estate was made famous in Peter Mayle’s book A Year In Provence. They are undoubtedly at the top of their appellation and the quality level of the wines produced here can often rival those produced in the prestigious vineyards of the southern Rhone valley.

Organic

Domaine de Boissan, located in Sablet, dates back to the 18th century; today it is in the capable hands of Christian and Cathy Bonfils, who are fifth-generation growers originally from Burgundy. Their Cuvee Prince d'Orange from 35-year-old vines; aged in oak for 6-8 months, it has hints of hazelnut and pepper on the nose and a palate that is rich and complex with a touch of blackcurrant on the finish.

Organic / Natural

40% Touriga Nacional, 40% Tinto Roriz, 20% Alicante Bouschet aged in large wooden vats called “dornas”. A fresh and bright medium-bodied red with tons of character. 12% abv

Organic

#11 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2025

95 points Wine Spectator
This impressive Pinot is polished and detailed, offering dynamic flavors of raspberry and blueberry, with mineral and brown baking spice hints that build richness toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2035.

93 points Vinous
The 2023 Pinot Noir Mt. Jefferson Cuvée blends dusty rose, licorice and orange-tinged wild strawberries. Soothingly round and pure in style, it offers crisp red berry fruits and mineral tones complemented by pretty inner florals. Gently tannic and long, the palate leaves a pleasantly chewy sensation and finishes with a tart cranberry twang. As of 2023, the Mt. Jefferson Cuvée uses 77% estate fruit. It is a fantastic value.

Always a Petite Sirah-dominated wine, the Pessimist sports an inky purple color as well as a great, full-bodied style carrying wonderful blue fruits, spring flowers, spice, and vanilla aromas and flavors. It's textured, has ripe tannins, loads of fruit, and is about as sexy and gulpable as they come

Organic

92 points Wine Enthusiast
Oregon and Washington fruit collide to shout, "gamay, gamay, hey." The wine is a mix of whole cluster carbonic maceration and traditional fermentation done in stainless steel, concrete and neutral oak. It is packed with aromas and flavors of strawberries, dark chocolate, pickled watermelon and cut grass. The acidity will make you feel alive.

Winery: Gamay is simply the most delicious, delightful, versatile grape. It hails from the Beaujolais region and also flourishes in the Loire Valley of France, and has witnessed rapid popularization in growth in the U.S. over recent years.

We fell hard for the carbonic maceration fermentation technique while learning about and making wine in the Beaujolais region. Produced like a traditional Beaujolais-Villages wine, we utilize carbonic and semi-carbonic maceration as the layering components.

Fruit, juice, spice, and everything nice.