The last large post on California wines was at the beginning of 2025. Then life took over, and I have been dribbling posts out. It was time to get the next big California post out! This will not be a retrospective, like I did here. This will be more like the 2024 post I did here, covering the California wines I have recently enjoyed.

It has been a long time since my last post, and I am a good 100 wines behind, at this point, so these next few posts will be short and to the point.

In September, I got into my car and drove to Hagafen Winery. Covenant Winery sent me their samples. There are no new wines from Marciano Estates or Shadybrook Estates. I also had many wines shipped to me from Herzog and Shirah. I also went down to a large event at Herzog Wine Cellars and tasted all their new wines, more on that below. So, this is not as full a tasting of California wines as last time, but very close. This is NOT a list of available wines and scores for each of these wineries’ wines, but rather a set of tastings of what I have not yet had from these wineries. I have two Invei wines, too!

The plan here is to list the wineries and their wines in the order I tasted them (since I did taste some wines more than once). As I stated before, Covenant continues to impress, as does Shirah, recently, with some of their new wines, which are pretty remarkable!

Many thanks to each and every winery here for putting up with me and sharing their excellent wines.

My overall feelings about the California 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 vintages

Let us start with the facts: the 2021 vintage for California was the best I can remember. Yes, better than 2012 or 2014, and all around, everyone, and every winery came out with fantastic wines. Why? Because God gave each winery enough time to not screw it up, and even when they wanted to screw it up, he made sure they could not! DONE! Look, God gave them a raw deal in 2020, across the state – and we all know it! So, in 2021, he made up for it in spades (whatever that means)!

The 2021 vintage stood out in BOTH the Mevushal and non-Mevushal wine categories. For white and red wines. It was a shockingly good season all around, and everyone came out smelling like roses!

Fast forward to 2022, and yeah, things were quite different! The wines are classic Cali ripe, and while that works for some, I prefer my wines balanced and focused.

The 2023 vintage is looking good, but the REAL focus here is on the non-Mevushal wines! The Mevushal wines are showing success, but side-by-side with their non-Mevushal counterparts, they are paling in comparison. Add to that, scale and winery focus, and I am finding some REAL steals in 2023 and 2024! Read the notes, but focus primarily on the non-Mevushal wines in 2023, IMHO!

The 2024 vintage is a bit early to call. So far, I have found the white wines lovely, and some of the reds have exceeded my expectations. The vintage was smoking hot; I live here, so I would know. However, some wineries managed this by picking earlier, using water in the vineyards or in the wine, or improving canopy management. The intense heat waves came at the end of the very hot summer, but there were some cooler times in between. In the end, time will tell, but what I have enjoyed so far, and posted here, shows promise!

Covenant Winery and Hajdu Winery

I tasted these wines over a long period of time in my house, and I continue to be impressed by the work and outcome of Covenant Winery.

The current slate of 2023 and 2024 wines from Covenant and Hajdu Wines is proof that when a team wants to do things right, they can make wines that appeal to folks like me and the masses. The wines are balanced and crisp, but not overly tart, which to some feels sour. They are ripe and refreshing without being cloying. The name of the game is balance, and they have hit every one of the wines out of the park. Solid prices, great wines, and all of them are refreshing and enjoyable – that is what I call California Dreamin’! These are the other white and rose wines I tasted from Covenant earlier this year, along with a few others.

Many thanks to Jonathan Hajdu, Jeff and Jodie Morgan, and the entire team! The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here, and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:

2024 Covenant Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon, Red C, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 90+ (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is on point, and bright, with good fruit, pop, flint, strawberry, raspberry, peach, and yellow flowers, nice!
The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is nice, it has great acidity, nice weight, good strawberry, raspberry, grapefruit, pomelo, nice saline, and more citrus. The issue is that the ABV adds weight, but also throws the wine a bit off-kilter. Further, at 15.1% ABV, the wine is too big for a Rosé, but it is still enjoyable in small doses. The finish is long, tart, with a touch of a creamy note, great orange/strawberry/citrus, more saline, and refreshing. Drink now. (tasted September 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 15.1%)

2024 Covenant Solomon Blanc, Bennett Valley, Sonoma County, CA – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
This is the fifth year of this lovely wine, which opens far quicker than previous vintages. As always, it should start chilled, but let it open in your glass as it warms. This is a wine that should be enjoyed at cellar temp (56 degrees), not fridge temp. I think this one reminds me more of the 2022 vintage, with a bit more acidity and less oak. Finally, this is best enjoyed in a Bordeaux glass and not a Riesling glass.
The nose of this lovely wine is impressive with intense bright fruit, bright acid, tart lemon/lime, yellow plum, sweet orange blossom, sweet bright pear, ripe lemongrass, sweet Honeydew melon, and honeysuckle. I find this vintage driven more by floral notes than by fruit notes.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, layered, and complex, with rich layers of tart and ripe lemon/lime, melon, Asian pear, yellow apple, and piercing acidity. The oak is a helper; it does not try to command attention. The mouth is deep and plush, rich and layered. The fruit is citrus and melon, it is not that tense passion fruit and gooseberry. The weight and acidity really carry this wine.
The finish is long, tart, ripe, and fruity, showing great acidity, melon, lemongrass, saline, nice weight, and lemon; all wrapped up beautifully! With more time, the wine does turn a bit bitter, and that threw me, but the depth and complexity are there. Bravo!! Drink until 2032. (tasted September 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2024 Covenant Pinot Noir, Landsman, Carneros, CA – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
I opened this wine and am tasting it next to another Cali Pinot Noir, and while I like them both and would recommend them, there is something very different about this wine. It feels European, and yes, I have a stronger affinity in that direction.
The nose of this wine really pops, waking me up with clean lines, shockingly clean for a California Pinot. It presents lanolin, waxy notes, red fruit that’s not quite ripe, along with lovely smoke, loam, dirt, and hints of umami. Nice!
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine will not be a fan favorite among Cali folks, who will ask for a punch in the face. This medium-bodied wine is balanced, on point, refreshing, and controlled, with epic acidity, nice lanolin notes, cherry hints, and a hint of ripe rhubarb, complemented by nice tannin, intense acidity, tart fruit, and smoke. This wine is so European it is crazy! I said acidity twice because it is incredible! The finish is long, tart, smoky, with more loam, dirt, and roasted basil, menthol, and lingering fruit. This is a very long linger. Bravo! Drink from 2026 until 2031. (tasted September 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2023 Covenant Syrah, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara County, CA – Score: 93+ (QPR: WINNER)
This is one of the most famous vineyards in Santa Barbara County, very difficult to access and even harder to maintain. This is further proof of the exceptional quality of the 2023 vintage; at 14.9% ABV, this wine feels balanced, concentrated, lively, with good pop, and full of character. This is the fourth vintage of this wine, and it is the best yet.
The nose of this wine is ripe, dense, fruity, earthy, smoky, and rich, with lovely notes of pop, loam, lanolin, and waxy aromas, as well as hints of salami, sweet spicy fruit, big red and black fruit, sweet spices, intense black pepper, and sweet herbs.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, concentrated, layered, and rich, yet well-balanced with incredible acidity, ripe fruit, blackberry, and boysenberry notes, complemented by sweet strawberry flavors, backed by mouth-draping tannin and rich, meaty notes, with intense black pepper. The wine is less “sweet” than the 2021 massive hit; it shows more balance. Bravo! The finish is long, spicy, with intense black and white pepper, layered, complex, smoky, earthy, sweet, balanced, and refreshing. Bravo! Drink until 2032. (tasted September 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.9%)

2024 Covenant Merlot, Black label, Sonoma County, CA (M) – Score: 89 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe, not candied, which is impressive for a wine of 15.6% ABV. That said, the fruit is ripe and juicy, black and blue, with nice spice, a hit of heat, lavender, sweet herbs, and more sweet spices.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine opens slowly, but over time, it develops good acidity and noticeable pop. Still, the alcohol makes it hard to be refreshing, with searing tannin, blackberry, plum, boysenberry, plush and concentrated, with sweet oak, and loam. The finish is long, ripe, in-your-face, but almost balanced, with more sweet spices, vanilla, smoke, and roasted herbs. Drink from 2026 until 2028. If you need to drink it now, decant it for two hours. (tasted September 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 15.6%)

2023 Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is young; it is a bit hot now, but that passes. It has good pop, with lovely dark fruit, smoke, earth, rock, and loads of sweet spices.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is a beast; it has excellent acidity, but it is hard to tame this much fruit, with layers of concentrated blackberry, cassis, plum, and smoke, all wrapped in aggressive but elegant tannin. This wine needs a long time. It will be glorious later, but for now, put it away and start enjoying it in 5 years. The finish is long, dark, brooding, balanced, sweet oak, vanilla, smoke, rich tannin, and layers of rock. Very nice!! Drink from 2030 until 2038. (tasted October 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.8%)

2024 Hajdu Pinot Noir, Oregon – Score: 91 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine has ripe but not candied cherry, raspberry, smoke, and a nice perfume, with dirt, and hints of root beer.
The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine has a nice weight, with a plush mouth of raspberry, plum, and cherry. The plushness is nice, but I need more acidity, and I crave a bit of a pop. The tannin is nice, and it wraps the fruit nicely. The wine feels a bit fat and slow, but it works. The finish is long, and it lingers with more dark fruit, smoke, and loam. Drink by 2028. (tasted September 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

Hagafen Cellars

On a lovely day in September, I made my way to Napa. This time, I focused on the latest wines from Hagafen Cellars. I was greeted very nicely and shown to a garden seat. I set up my computer with the external power adapter and was ready to taste through the 18 dry wines. I skipped the sweet wines.

Shortly after I was into a few wines, Ernie Weir was very kind to come by, and we had a wonderful conversation on wine, Napa, and the Kosher wine market as a whole. He also explained to me that the name change from Prix to Ernesto was simply a way to minimize the number of labels. All you conspiracy freaks out there, stick with aliens and moon landings. Many thanks to Ernie for taking the time to meet with me!

So, I will say it as clearly as I understand it: the 2021 vintage was when Hagafen moved from Prix to Ernesto, again to keep the labels to a minimum. However, the 2021 Pinot Noir, 2021 Sauvignon Blanc, and 2022 Chardonnay still have a Prix label as they were released earlier.

Throughout the tasting, I kept saying to myself that the wines are really expressive, showing good balance and nice acidity. The fruit is from Napa/Lodi/Sonoma, California, but the balanced wines show the care that can be achieved through careful study and effort.

In the end, I left with a case of wine, which is always the true test of what I think about the wines. I was really stunned by the white Prix wines, like Hagafen Sauvignon Blanc, Prix! I look forward to a three-way tasting, blind of course, with Benyo and others, of the high-end 2021 Cali Sauvignon Blanc wines from Hagafen, Covenant, and Marciano Estates. If I can get my hands on the non-Mevushal Gazin (2021), maybe I can throw that in as well! Bravo on the work, effort, and control shown throughout this tasting.

I also liked the move to screwcaps on the 2024 Hagafen Dry Riesling! The wine is lovely, and the screw caps make so much sense.

The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:

2024 Hagafen Riesling, Dry, Coombsville, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This is the first wine I have seen from Hagafen with a screw cap – very cool!
This wine is beautiful, screaming brightness and acidity, with lychee, mango, and passion fruit, with screaming tropical notes, but also so bright, refreshing, and happy. Bravo! The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is lovely; it has screaming acidity, rich fruit, and refreshing notes of mango, lychee, passion fruit, and grapefruit. The finish is long, tart, refreshing, with saline minerality and rock. Bravo! Drink by 2030. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 13%)

2023 Hagafen Don Ernesto Oh! White, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 91+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is bright and tart with sweet oak, smoke, gooseberry, green apples, pear, and sweet spices. The mouth of this medium to full-bodied wine is lovely with screaming acidity, a nice mouthfeel lifted from the acidity and sweet oak, a bit of tannin, followed by sweet apple, pear, grapefruit, sweet oak, gooseberry, and lovely smoke. The finish is long, spicy, with more sweet oak, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and saline. Nice!! Drink by 2029. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 14%)

2024 Hagafen Don Ernesto Rose, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 90+ (QPR: GREAT)
This is another lovely Rose from the Cali region. The nose of this wine bursts with great fruit, acidity, raspberry, and strawberry notes, as well as rock and salinity. Nice pop! The mouth of this medium-bodied rose has more weight; this is not one of those roses that will remind you of lavender and Cotes de Provence, the dark raspberry, strawberry, plum, all come together with smoke, and nice crushed rock. Drink now (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 13.6%)

2023 Hagafen Chardonnay, Carneros, Sonoma County (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
I hope the nose of this wine foreshadows what we will enjoy soon from the upcoming 2023 Cali releases. The nose is clean, streamlined, on point, and refreshing with pop. The nose of this wine is not over-oaked, not over-ripe. It is clean with notes of apple, pear, and smoke, complemented by brioche and a fresh-baked pie, lovely!
The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is on point, with great acidity, pop, and refreshing, with a fruit attack of pear, apple, soft tannin, not round, almost edgy. with orange notes, grapefruit, lovely sweet oak, and citrus all coming together – lovely! The finish is long, tart, juicy, and fruity, yet refreshing, on point, and focused, with the oak uplifting the wine rather than overpowering it. perfect! Drink by 2030. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Hagafen Blanc de Blanc Brut, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is lovely, tart, popping, and refreshing with smoke, brioche, apple, pear, and quince. The mouth of this medium-bodied sparkling wine is on point, with great acidity, smoke, lovely small mousse bubbles, notes of apple, pear, quince, and baked apple pie, and tart notes galore. The finish is long, tart, refreshing, with lovely bite, attack, acidity, and a profile that says drink me now! Bravo! Drink by 2028. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 12.5%)

2022 Hagafen Chardonnay, Prix, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is on point; it is the butterball of Chardonnay, but it is perfectly well-made, with apple, sweet oak, and brioche dominating, with sweet fruit and oak mingling.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lovely, ripe, perfectly balanced, with good acidity, ripe apple, pear, brioche buns, and a touch of tannin all coming together in a nice, round, but tart butter approach. The butterscotch and baked goods dominate the finish with nice acidity balancing it out. Drink by 2031. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 13%)

2022 Hagafen Sauvignon Blanc, Prix, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine lacks the pop of 2021, but it still has a pleasant presence, with lovely fruit, hints of French oak, violet, floral notes, and notes of gooseberry, grapefruit, garrigue, and creamy undertones, all wrapped in a comforting finish.
The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is lovely, with screaming acidity, lovely garrigue, creamy and round, yet tart and refreshing, featuring sweet oak, gooseberry, grapefruit, and lovely violet and honeysuckle notes. Lovely! The finish is long, with a hint of oak, featuring sweet oak notes up front, accompanied by herbs and floral notes, as well as sweet fruit and lovely acidity, all coming together for a creamy and tart finish. Bravo! Drink by 2030 (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 12.5%)

2023 Hagafen Pinot Noir, 50% Napa Valley & 50% Sonoma County (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is lovely, with great roasted herbs, smoke, dark cherry, sweet oak, and loam, nice! The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lovely, with nice acidity, smoke, crushed rock, and dark sour cherry, with soft tannin, roasted herb, and lovely floral notes. The finish is long, lovely, floral, and smoky, with roasted herbs and rock. Bravo! Drink by 2030 (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Hagafen Pinot Noir, Prix, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is lovely and controlled, with rich smoke, dark cherry, sweet oak, lovely controlled fruit, rock, and floral notes. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe; it has acidity, with dark sour cherry, rock, ripe and juicy plum, earth, sweet tannin, and loam. The finish is long, ripe, tart, juicy, and balanced, with good acidity, punch, fruit focus, and refreshing. Drink until 2031. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 14%)

2022 Hagafen Don Ernesto Oh!, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is lovely, bright, and popping, with good acidity, sweet smoke, floral notes, blue notes, raspberry, strawberry, and crushed rock. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, balanced, with great acidity, popping, and refreshing. It shows juicy boysenberry and strawberry notes, with hints of black fruit in the background, as well as cloves, smoke, sweet tannin, and sweet oak, all wrapped up together and nicely made. The finish is long, ripe, tart, and lingers forever! With more fruit, smoke, and roasted meat. Bravo!! Drink by 2028. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 13.7%)

2022 Hagafen Merlot, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 91+ (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is ripe, a bit more than I like, but 2022 was a tough year, with ripe black and blue fruit, followed by earth, smoke, sweet spices, and meaty notes of lanolin and wax. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is a winner; the nose scares me a bit, but the mouth is balanced with great acidity; it does not have that pop, but it is a lovely wine with blackberry, plum, strawberry, lanolin, sweet oak, and sweet tannin. Bringing this together is a very nice way. The Merlot name is upheld by its complex spice, sweet oak, and fruit-forward character. The finish is long, spicy, with cloves, nutmeg, sweet mint, lovely fruit, and loam. Nice! Drink by 2032. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Hagafen Don Ernesto Merlot, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 91+ (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is ripe, but balanced with good fruit, smoke, earth, spice, red and black fruit, and spices taking front stage. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, but the balance is on point, with lovely sweet oak, elegant oak, great acidity, plum, blackberry, sweet spices, all wrapped in lovely tannin. The finish is long, ripe, balanced, with great acidity, oak, sweet juicy fruit, dark chocolate, and loam lingering for a long time. Drink until 2030. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 14%)

2021 Hagafen Syrah, Napa Valley, CA (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This is the third time I’ve enjoyed this wine, and it has improved! The 2021 vintage from Cali keeps on giving!
The nose of this wine is ripe, black, and blue, with sweet spices, sweet oak, nice precision, lanolin, blue and red fruit, sweet dill, and milk chocolate.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is lovely, with great acidity. The milk chocolate and oak have evolved, becoming more balanced with sweet spices, sweet herbs, raspberry, bright and tart blueberry, intense acidity and pop, wrapped in nice tannin, and sweet orange notes. Really nice! The finish is long, tannic, spicy, with notes of cloves and nutmeg, along with sweet smoke, roasted meat, and additional lanolin. Lovely! Drink by 2031. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 12.9%)

2021 Hagafen Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This is the third time I have had this wine, and it is on track with where I had it originally. The nose of this wine is lovely, fruity, and smoky, with green notes, ripe red fruit, milk chocolate, sweet oak, and sweet spices.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is gripping with great acidity, showing lovely fruit focus, concentrated, and bracing with crazy acidity, lovely blackberry, raspberry, and iron shavings, all wrapped in sweet and attacking tannin. The finish is long, searing, and attacking, with lovely acidity, sweet and ripe blackberry lingering with milk chocolate, and more minerality. Nice!! Drink by 2031. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 14%)

2021 Hagafen Don Ernesto Syrah, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
Tasting the Hagafen and the Don Ernesto (AKA Prix) wines side by side is fascinating. The nose of this wine has more elegant oak, more of it as well, with some pop, along with more smoke. Roasted meat takes center stage, the fruit is slightly behind a haze of smoke and meat, though the red and black fruit and dirt come through.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, but the pop and balance help it out a lot with a lovely attack of screaming acidity, sweet tannin, lovely blackberry, boysenberry, and loam, all wrapped in sweet tannin, and loads of tart fruit. Lovely! The finish is long, tart, ripe, juicy, and smoky! Bravo! Drink by 2031 (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Hagafen Don Ernesto Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is even cleaner than the Hagafen Cab Franc, with rich tart red fruit, more pop, lovely smoke, ripe but juicy, and herbal. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, tart, and juicy, with great acidity, lovely fruit focus, raspberry, strawberry, green, and herbal, but also ripe and fruity, with sweet oak, mouth-draping tannin, and more garrigue. The finish is long, herbal, ripe, and fruity, yet balanced with great acidity and tart fruit. Nice! Drink by 2031. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 13.2%)

2019 Hagafen Cabernet Franc, Prix, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is gorgeous, ripe, balanced, yet on the point, with lovely notes of pop, smoke, cassis, black fruit, and red fruit, backed by iron shavings, charcoal, and loam. Really impressive. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is lovely, plush, extracted, concentrated, and balanced with great acidity, blackberry, cassis, graphite, and loam, wrapped in mouth-draping tannin, elegant and plush, and rich. Lovely! The finish is long, toasty, plush, and concentrated; it lingers with dark fruit, more minerality, dark chocolate, black and red fruit, and smoke. Lovely! Drink until 2031. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 15.5%)

2021 Hagafen Don Ernesto La Familia, Napa Valley (M) – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is lovely, bright, tart, balanced, ripe, and elegant, with a beautiful oak body, along with red and black fruit, rich smoke, loam, charcoal, lanolin, and graphite. Just lovely! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe. Still, the acidity is perfectly balanced, with an intense attack of sweet oak that is plush and inviting, accompanied by notes of blackberry, plum, cassis, raspberry, loam, and graphite. Just impressive. The finish is long, bracing, and tart, with great smoke, attack, and focus. Impressive. Drink by 2032. (tasted September 2025) (in Hagafen Winery, Napa Valley) (ABV = 13.7%)

Mayacamas Winery

I ordered these wines from the winery, and while I had higher hopes for them, I tempered my hopes knowing the process these wines go through. Mayacamas is a famous Cali winery that was bought by the Schottenstein family of Columbus, Ohio.

I have tasted other Mayacamas wines, and they are all made in the Cali-style of winemaking, AKA over-the-top and in-your-face. I am posting them here again, after posting them in a previous QPR post, as I want to keep the Cali theme going.

The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:

2024 Mayacamas Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is okay; it lacks pop, but it has nice fruit, showing passion fruit, gooseberry, lemon, and grapefruit pith. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine has good acidity, but it lacks pop or complexity. It does not feel fake like last year, with absurd tartaric acidification. The fruit is gooseberry and passion fruit; the lemon is stunted. It is not hollow, but it feels lifeless. The finish is long, round, with sufficient acidity and some slate notes. Drink now. (tasted June 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2024 Mayacamas Rose, Grenache, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 87 (QPR: POOR)
The nose of this wine is the best part, and that is not very impressive, with notes of peach and strawberry, but the grapefruit pith is really over the top. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lacking in acidity, and what acidity it does have shows as fake, with strawberry and peach. The finish is very short, making the wine feel hollow, and drink up now! (tasted June 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2023 Mayacamas Chardonnay, Mount Veeder, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is quite lovely, showing balance, fruit, smoke, peach, pear, yellow flowers, Asian Pear, and citrus. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine feels almost as if it never kissed oak; the acidity is there, it is acidified, but not aggressively, with pear, round apple, Asian pear, sweet oak, and some tannin. The finish is okay, but it is not very exciting. Overall, a straightforward wine that works well. Drink by 2027. (tasted June 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

Shirah Winery

I have been saying this to myself and a few friends: I feel Shirah Wines has found the right balance between the need/desire for fruit and their passion for perfection. There will still be wines like the 2021 Shirah Geshem I had earlier, which is correct but too fruity for my tastes. However, then you get the glorious Rose they had this year, the Chardonnay, the Pinot Noir, the Aglianico, and you say, “Nice!”

Keep up the great work, and many thanks for all the help in getting me my wine orders! I still love how Gabe was laughing and saying that I finally found a ripe California red wine I like from Shirah! Yes, the 2021 Shirah Aglianico is ripe, glorious, and perfectly balanced, yet another gift of the 2021 Cali vintage and your hard work! The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here, and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:

2023 Shirah Chardonnay, Santa Barbara, CA – Score: 91 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is nice, showing a lean profile. It has good apples, pears, melons, and sweet oak, sweet vanilla, a bit of spice, and smoke. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine does not have the heft of previous white wines, the 12.3% ABV shows, but the acidity is on point, with good fruit, apple, pear, melon, and sweet oak. Nice. The finish is long, with good acidity, cloves, a bit of baked pie, and sweet spices. Drink by 2027. (tasted August 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.3%)

2024 Shirah Rose, Santa Barbara, CA – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine starts with absurd acidity, the brightness is off the charts, with such a low PH (3.06), showing peach, raspberry, strawberry, nice lemon/lime, and gravel. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine shows absurd acidity, with good fruit, enough weight, along with no bitterness, good fruit focus, refreshing, and a wine that makes you salivate. The finish is long enough, with more acidity, fruit, and gravel. Drink now. (tasted August 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 11.2%)

2023 Shirah Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara, CA – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is glorious, incredible pop, fruity, richly controlled, almost alchemy, with notes of rhubarb, sour cherry, lanolin (yes, it is 2023, but man, it is everywhere), toast, oolong tea, lovely lavender, rose hip, and smoke. Bravo! The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine pops with lovely acidity, smoke, tension, floral notes galore, but backed by lovely fruit, rhubarb, plum, sour cherry, the kind of wine that makes my hands tingle, just so beautiful, the fruit, acidity, complexity, tension, and oak notes (not overpowering) make you want to dance – bravo! The finish is long, fruity, yet controlled, plush, with more fruit and floral notes, as well as tea and sour cherry, lingering for a long time. Bravo!! That is still lingering. Drink until 2031. (tasted October 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2021 Shirah Aglianico, Paso Robles, CA – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is impressive. What hits you first is the glorious pop, followed by the umami punch of soy sauce, roasted fennel, lovely sweet blue and black fruit, smoke, sweet spice, and charcoal, lovely! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is a beast; the fruit is there, but it is tempered by the dense tannin structure, followed by ripe blackberry, boysenberry, rich salinity, charcoal, minerality, and scraping graphite. Impressive. The finish is long, impressive, bold, with smoke, rich tannin, ripe fruit, balanced, and aggressive. While I would love to say this wine is refreshing, that is like saying a beatdown is refreshing. The correct way to state this wine is simple: a big, bold, aggressively balanced wine with fruit and tannin. All wrapped and layered and concentrated without being a showoff or an annoying loudmouth! Bravo! Drink until 2033. (tasted October 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.6%)

2023 Shirah Syrah, Santa Barbara County, CA – Score: 91 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is ripe; it is not candied, but it lacks the pop I need. Showing ripe red and blue fruit, rich smoke, milk chocolate, sweet spices, cinnamon, allspice, and hints of cloves. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is good; it has enough acidity, but again, it lacks the pop, with raspberry, strawberry, boysenberry, and plum, all wrapped in good tannin. The fruit, cacao, sweet spices, herbs, and sweet oak mingle well together. The finish has good body, acidity, smoke, more chocolate, sweet spices, and vanilla. I was hoping for more complexity, but it is a solid wine! Drink by 2031. (tasted October 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2023 Shirah Riesling, Santa Barbara, CA – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is classic, showing rich and ripe fruit, with intense honeysuckle, honeyed melon, and guava, but balanced with grapefruit, gooseberry, pineapple, and good minerality. This is too young for the funk to appear, but it will likely happen in a couple of years.
The mouth of this wine is fun, ripe, layered, and rich, plush, with good flint, smoke, and matchstick, followed by honeysuckle, honeyed melon, Meyer lemon, grapefruit, hints of orange, nectarines, and more smoke, FUN!
The finish is long, smoky, flinty, and fun, refreshing, tart, yet ready to handle creamy and spicy food. Enjoy! Drink by 2028. (tasted July 2024) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.4%)

Invei Wines

Michael Kaye continues to strive to make wines that are both unique and interesting. Some are hits, and some are close, but either way, he continues to impress. Hopefully, as he scales up production, the cool and refreshing wines will continue to roll! His website is up and running – Invei Wines.

2023 Invei Petit Verdot, Clements Hill, CA – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is dense; it hits you with a hammer of tar, lavender, rose hip, black and red fruit, along with smoke and asphalt. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is unique; it has the acidity to carry the weight, well, along with an intense potpourri of lavender, rose, violet, and Oolang tea, lovely! The attack is deep, concentrated, and carries with it the fruit, a lovely acidity that brings the wine together with nice tannin and rich structure. The finish is long, dark, and ripe, with a fruit structure that goes on forever and a density balanced by acidity, vanilla, chocolate, and smoke. Bravo! Drink until 2031. (tasted September 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2023 Invei Barbera, Sierra Foothills, CA – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is a significant step up from Invei’s previous red wines. I do not mean this in a bad way at all. This wine marks the next step in winemaking. The nose shows good pop, bright fruit, and big ripe fruit, blackberry, boysenberry, cassis, and rich oak. This is an impressive wine worth your time to find. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, concentrated, and balanced with great acidity, lovely bright fruit, blackberry, and boysenberry, all wrapped in intense tannin, along with layers of precision and focus. Nice! The finish is long, bright, ripe, balanced, with chocolate, boysenberry, plum, cassis, a wine that lingers, with crazy fruit, acidity, and smoke. Impressive. Drink until 2032. (tasted September 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

Herzog Wine Cellars

Herzog put on a lovely event last week in Oxnard to showcase their newly released 2023 and 2024 wines. I missed a couple, but the Herzog folks helped me ship them to the house. I will post what I have now, and the few others in my year-end post and in a QPR post.

I want to take up this virtual space to talk about the launch event. Herzog Wine Cellars may not be close to where I live, but it is not so far either. So, on a cool Monday morning, after davening, I made my way down to the winery by car. I may not have a Tesla but the car does well on the highway and I made my way down without any issues, thank God!

Food and Wine

Joseph Herzog was very kind to invite me to this event. It was an event made to showcase the new wines from 2023 and 2024. I had already tasted a few of them, but I had yet to taste a fair number of them as well. Also, it is always best to taste the wines in the winery rather than elsewhere. Along with Joseph Herzog, David Galzignato, the head winemaker at Herzog Winery, was there as well, along with Alicia Wilbur (manning the non-Mevushal wine station).

A mix of Mevushal and non-Mevushal wines was presented at the event. I have been saying this for a very long time; it is time to remove the concept of mevushal from the kosher wine industry. Until that happens, thankfully, we are seeing more and more non-Mevushal wines on the market! The more the economy starts to stifle large-scale, expensive dinners and celebrations, the more the wineries are beginning to lean on me and you, the regular kosher wine buyers.

The event was not just about the wines; five stations were showcasing all the wines, with one food-only and one wine-only. The biggest wine station featured Mevushal whites and Sparkling wines on one side, along with the entire lineup of the new non-Mevushal wines on the other.

I will admit I am not the best photographer, and the lighting was glorious (aka sunny), but it wrecked all my attempts at any picture quality.

In the non-Mevushal part of the station, you had the three 2021 Yesod wines. The 2021 Yesod Cabernet Sauvignon, Edcora Vineyard, Atlas Peak, 2021 Yesod Cabernet Sauvignon, Padis Vineyard, Oak Knoll, and the 2021 Yesod Cabernet Sauvignon, Montagna Vineyard.

To the right of those, you had the new 2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Edition, Oak Knoll, along with the 2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Single Vineyard, Knights Valley, and the 2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Lake County, Special Reserve.

To the right of those, you had the two Pinot Noirs, the 2024 Herzog Pinot Noir, Special Reserve, and the 2024 Herzog Pinot Noir, Chalk Hill, Special Edition.

None of these wines is Mevushal. The new non-Mevushal wine on the block is the 2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve, Lake County. It joins the previously made, non-Mevushal, Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon Variations, American and French oak. Those two were Herzog’s first attempt at non-Mevushal wines for their reserve or Special Edition wines. Single-Vineyard wines were non-mevushal primarily in the past.

Tasting the Lake County Mevushal and non-Mevushal in the same sitting was quite enjoyable, and it was easy to see what the process does to these wines. What is really impressive is to realize that we love our Alexander Valley and Lake County wines, even though they are Mevushal. However, seeing the flipside, the wine in the raw, alive, not close to being ready, but also showing so much verve, power, tension, and control. It was pretty interesting indeed. It is clear, at least on these wines, that the Mevushal process almost dumbs the wine down, allowing that power to be accessible now. A friend of mine told me that a winemaker said the Mevushal process makes the wine better now, but not for the long term.

On the Mevushal side, you had the 2023 Herzog Generation VIII Cabernet Sauvignon, Padis Vineyard, the 2023 Herzog Generation VIII Cabernet Sauvignon, Double Creek Vineyard, and the 2023 Herzog Merlot, Special Reserve, Sonoma County. There were also two sparkling wines, but I missed them. One of them was the newly released Blanc de Noir, hopefully next time! They also had the 2024 Herzog Chenin Blanc, Lineage. It was fruitier than the Special Reserve, but it was on point and was correct for its demographic.

The following table had the other white wines: the 2024 Herzog Chenin Blanc, Special Reserve, Mevushal, and the 2024 Herzog Chardonnay, Chalk Hill. The salmon was excellent. I also liked the two whites; the Chardonnay was not an oak bomb, and the Chenin Blanc continued David Galzignato’s push to make more interesting white wines than just Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

The following table had three mevushal wines. The 2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Lake County, Special Reserve, the 2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, Special Reserve, and the 2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. The dish on that table was the Beef Cheek Nugget with Cherry demi-glace. The dish was succulent and quite enjoyable. The wines were a good pairing, and as I stated above, far more accessible than the non-Mevushal Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon. They were more supple, though they had the tannin to go for a bit.

The following table included the 2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Eminence, Special Edition; the 2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Edition CH (Chalk Hill); and the 2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford. The Eminence is a new Special Edition wine, a blend of grapes sourced from Sonoma County. On the table was the best dish of the night by far, the Bison Toast with horseradish, truffle demi-glace, on Beef Tallow Sourdough. I enjoyed a bunch of the Bison without the bread, along with the lovely salad from the other room, for my dinner before my ride home! Bravo! The horseradish cream was to die for and paired perfectly with the Bison!

The table on the inside had a lovely fall salad that I enjoyed with the Bison. The Barley Risotto was nice, but it was more of a Pilaf than a risotto. Finally, the prime rib and the Veal were a bit too cooked for my tastes, more like pot roast than a chunk of beef, but all the food was solid.

I thought the entire event was solid to excellent. The wines showed well, and the food was lovely! The entire staff at the tables, the bar, and the winery were all highly professional and very nice. A no-brainer for me to attend next time, for sure!

The wine notes follow below, in the order I tasted them over the past few months. The explanation of my qualitative “scores” can be found here, and the explanation of my QPR scores can be found here:

2024 Herzog Chardonnay, Special Reserve, Russian River, Sonoma, CA (M) – Score: 91+ (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is solid, it is clean, and it has some pop, with lovely citrus, nice smoke, apple, and lovely creamy notes.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine shows lovely acidity, nice Asian pear, apple, and grapefruit, along with sweet oak and smoke. It shows creamy, tart, and refreshing with some oak that sticks out a bit. Nice! The finish is long, creamy, oaky, and smokey, solid but lacking more to captivate me; still, it is nice. Drink from 2026 until 2029. (tasted September 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2024 Herzog Chardonnay, Chalk Hill, Special Edition, Chalk Hill, Sonoma, CA (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is clean, with nice pop, showing nice controlled oak, sweet spices, cloves, sweet Asian pear, Yellow apple, creamy notes, sweet smoke, and citrus. The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is nice, it has the acidity and pop to keep you along with the apple, pear, and sweet pomelo, backed by sweet oak, and biting tannin. Nice all around with enough complexity to keep you interested. The finish is long, tart, with a bit of tannin, smoke, and sweet fruit, all around very nice! Drink by 2030. (tasted September 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2024 Herzog Pinot Noir, Special Reserve, Clarksburg, CA – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is ripe, but it shows control with waxy notes, lanolin, dark cherry, raspberry, smoke, green notes, some pop, and roasted herb. The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine has great acidity, nice pop, more lanolin, along with dark cherry, raspberry, good texture, and complexity. The mouth is backed by lovely fruit, texture, mouth-draping tannin, and a hint of smoke. Nice! It is nice that the oak does not overpower; the wine shines in the fact that the fruit and its quality show. The finish is long, dirty, toasty, and again, lovely acidity. Nice! Drink by 2030. (tasted October 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2024 Herzog Pinot Noir, Special Edition, Chalk Hill, Sonoma, CA – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is lovely, amped up with the higher ABV, but also showing good pop, nice fruit, lanolin, waxy notes, and sweet toast. I wonder if Cali 2024 will be the year of Lanolin in Pinot Noir. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine has lovely acidity, great tension, nice complexity, nice texture, and good attack. The fruit shows notes of dark cherry, plum, and raspberry, with a hint of smoke, and mouth-draping tannin. The wine is a solid example of the 2024 Cali vintage when managed correctly. Again, this is an excellent example from Herzog of a Pinot Noir with oak not made of oak. The finish is long, tannic, tart, expressive, refreshing, and fruity. The finish shows nice fruit, roasted herbs, and vanilla. Bravo! Drink until 2033. (tasted October 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Single Vineyard, Knights Valley, Sonoma County – Score: 91+ (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine pops with lovely brightness, good black and red fruit, smoke, minerality, lovely roasted herbs, and spices. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is lovely, balanced, savory, smoky, with green notes that make the wine calm, blackberry, juicy raspberry, nice tannin, earth, and sweet tannin. The finish is long, savory, smoky, fruity, and balanced with good fruit, vanilla, roasted herb, green notes, and more smoke. Drink by 2031. (tasted October 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2023 Herzog Eminence, Special Edition, Chalk Hill, Sonoma County, CA (M) – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine shows ripe fruit, black, blue, and red, with smoke, sweet oak, earth, and waxy notes. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is layered, with good acidity, nice fruit, blackberry, blueberry, plum, raspberry, plush, and almost elegant, with an aggressive tannin structure, smoke, loam, and vanilla. The finish is long, ripe, tannic, with sweet oak, sweet vanilla, and some minerality. Drink by 2032. (tasted October 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2023 Herzog Merlot, Special Reserve, Sonoma County, CA (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
This is the return of the Alexander Valley Merlot, yet again, the last one was in 2018 – Miles is dead (not in real life, but you get the gist)! The nose on this wine is very unlike the previous vintage; it is clean, with good pop, smoke, green notes, roasted herbs, raspberry, and dark cherry. The nose is clean, fruity, yet balanced, with waxy notes, herbal notes, and a nice finish. The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is ripe, unlike the nose, which feels stogy, a bit unbalanced, with more fruit, blackberry, plum, raspberry, smoke, sweet oak, vanilla, and hints of loam. The green notes are gone, it is fruit and more fruit, and oak. The finish is long, fruity, ripe, not candied, but also not balanced, clumsy, but many will find this wine on point. Drink until 2028. (tasted October 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2021 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, One Plus XII, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine clearly shows oak; it is a wine that sat in French oak for 36 months, still, it has pop, it has acidity, and the fruit is not buried under all that oak. The nose shows notes of sweet oak, smoke, black and red fruit, cacao, sweet tobacco, minerality, and loam.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, with lots of sweet oak, lovely acidity, balancing the ripe blackberry, raspberry, and dark cherry, with good pop, tart fruit, loam, and an elegant mouth-draping tannin structure. The finish is long, tart, ripe, balanced, and oaky, with more sweet tobacco, minerality, iron shavings, dark chocolate, and grippy tannin. Drink from 2028 until 2036. (tasted October 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Edition, Rutherford, CA (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe, and while the wine is overall balanced, it is so ripe and big that it just cannot be enjoyable. The nose of this wine is ripe, with round notes of ripe fruit, chocolate, ripe black and red fruit, sweet oak, loam, dense fruit, and inky notes. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, with some acidity, but the weight is so absurd that it cannot be refreshing or enjoyable. Still, the mouth is dominated by blackberry, with some acidity, plum, and boysenberry, along with loads of oak and chocolate. The tannin is not as aggressive as it would appear. Ultimately, it is slightly underbalanced but superior to previous vintages. The finish is okay, with more chocolate, sweet smoking tobacco, oak, vanilla, sweet dill, and sweet spices. Drink until 2030. (tasted November 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 15.5%)

2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve, Lake County, CA – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is interesting with some pop, nice green notes, loads of sweet oak, sweet spice, and anise. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, layered, and concentrated, with loads of oak, candied plum, blackberry, cassis, intense, searing tannin, a nice mouthfeel, and scraping mineral. The finish is long, oaky, and rich with smoke, milk chocolate, and more fruit. Drink from 2028 until 2033. (tasted December 2025) (in Oxnard, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2024 Herzog Chenin Blanc, Special Reserve, Clarksburg, CA (M) – Score: 91+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is lovely, clean, fruity, with pop, showing peach, pear, apple, and sweet oak, honeysuckle, yellow flowers, and hints of oily notes. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is clean, with great acidity, lovely fruit, peach, Asian pear, yellow apple, floral notes, showing great control, sweet smoke, nice mouthfeel, with great peach, pear, apple, and citrus notes. The finish is long and ripe and controlled, lovely. Drink until 2029. (tasted December 2025) (in Oxnard, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2024 Herzog Chenin Blanc, Lineage, Clarksburg, CA (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose on this wine is far fruitier than I’d like, but I can definitely see the value and what people will like. The nose has fruit, honeysuckle, honeyed peach, mango, lychee, and lemongrass. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine has good acidity, with nice fruit, nice focus. The mouth is less fruity than the nose with peach, lychee, and some pop. The finish is long, fruity, and on point. Drink now. (tasted December 2025) (in Oxnard, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve, Alexander Valley, Sonoma, CA (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is ripe, too much for what I hope for from an Alexander Valley, with candied plum, raspberry, blackberry, and more oak than either the Napa Valley or Lake County. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, candied, but elegant, layered, and rich, with blackberry, plum, cassis, better acidity than the other two, with too much oak at this time, but elegant and balanced with the acidity and pop. The finish is long, balanced, with massive tannin, nice tension, minerality, and rich smoke. Drink until 2036. (tasted December 2025) (in Oxnard, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve, Napa Valley, CA (M) – Score: 91+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is balanced with good pop, lovely smoke, rich cassis, anise, sweet oak, and balanced. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is ripe, showing the vintage’s fruit with notes of chocolate, ripe plum, cassis, blackberry, and ripe blueberry. The tannin structure is intense but controlled, and the oak is accessible. The finish is long, ripe, candied, and accessible. Drink now until 2032 (tasted December 2025) (in Oxnard, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Lake County, Special Reserve, Lake County, CA (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is quite lovely. Lake County is great this year, with less pop than the non-mevu, showing blackberry, plum, and less oak. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is lovely, still less pop than the non mevu, but balanced with good acidity, nice oak, easier and more ready than the non mevu, with chocolate and blackberry, plum, and balance. The mouthfeel and tannin are far easier to enjoy now, and the fruit is calmer, very interesting to taste side by side. The finish is long and fruity. Balanced and smoky with less chocolate and more ink. Drink now until 2030. (tasted December 2025) (in Oxnard, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Chalk Hill, Warnecke Vineyards, Special Edition, Sonoma County, CA (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is rich with oak, smoke, heat, showing alcohol, loads of black fruit, and some blue as well. The mouth of this wine tastes burnt with so much smoky oak, nice acidity, but too much fruit, blackberry, cassis, boysenberry, no pop because of all the alcohol, crazy mouth-drying tannin, loads of heat, and oak. The finish is long and spicy with cloves, still too much tannin, milk chocolate, and sweet tobacco. Drink from 2030 until 2037. (tasted December 2025) (in Oxnard, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2023 Herzog Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Variations, Five (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
This wine is a blend of fruit from five regions in California: Paso Robles, Napa Valley, Alexander Valley, Santa Ynez, and Chalk Hill. The dirty notes of Chalk Hill carry in here and show nicely with the fruit. The fruit is black and red, and the oak is controlled, showing some pop. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice enough; it needs more to grab you, but it is controlled by its acidity and structure. The fruit carries over from the nose. The mouthfeel is on point, but I want more. Still a solid wine and enjoyable. Drink by 2028. (tasted December 2025) (in Oxnard, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2023 Herzog Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Lineage, North Coast, CA (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is dirty, earthy, and smoky, and on point, it is fruity with ripe black and red fruit, but controlled. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is on point, with good acidity, good fruit, and very enjoyable for a mevushal wine, showing blackberry, plum, cherry, and nice dirt, with nice tannin and mouthfeel. The finish is nice as well. Drink by 2028. (tasted December 2025) (in Oxnard, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2023 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Edition, Oak Knoll, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
To start, this wine continues to prove my new opinion of the 2023 California vintage. The non-Mevushal wines of the 2023 vintage are showing exceptionally. The nose of this wine shows lovely pop, yes, it is ripe, it is 15.5%ABV! The vintage harkens back to 2021, minus a drop, for the non-Mevushal wines, with grat pop! Beyond that sense of attack, presence, there is also fruit, obviously, along with control, smoke, minerality, anise, black and red fruit, loam, tar, iron shavings, and rock. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is incredible. Any wine that is 15.5% ABV will make me wince, but the joy of tasting wine before I look at the data, aka blind. Sure, you can tell this was 15% ABV, but the vintage hides the 0.55! The mouth shows great acidity, intense tension, mouth-draping tannin, wild minerality, lovely oak, lovely smoke, and a fruity approach with blackberry, plum, sweet rhubarb, dried cranberry, all wrapped in scraping minerality and dense, plush fruit mouth! WOW! The finish lingers for something I have not felt for a long time. This is special! The wine is intense and balanced, with no milk chocolate or even dark chocolate; this is an earth-driven wine! The finish is focused and driven by minerality, scarping graphite, dense tannin (not astringent), and so refreshing, this is a beast in a tutu! Bravo!! Drink from 2030 until 2040! (tasted December 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 15.5%)

2023 Herzog Petite Sirah, Winery Reserve, Clarksburg, CA (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is nice, showing enough pop, with meaty notes, floral violet notes, black, blue, and red fruit, and nice smoke. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is lovely; it has great acidity, some pop, with mouth-draping and drying tannin, almost elegant, with dense fruit, ripe blackberry, plum, boysenberry, and strawberry. It is all wrapped in dense tannin and sweet oak. The finish is long, tart, with lovely graphite, rock, and sweet spices. This is a fun wine to enjoy with a slab of meat; the acidity, tannin, weight, and tension work well with such fare! Drink until 2031. (tasted December 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2023 Sonoma-Loeb Cabernet Sauvignon, Chalk Hill, Dignitary, Chalk Hill, CA (M) – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine POPS from the moment you open the bottle. The nose is lovely, with great bright fruit, smoke, dirt, loam, and lovely black and red fruit. The nose is an attack, and it is fun! Nice! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, dense, balanced with great acidity, showing great pop, with blackberry, no plum, raspberry, dark cherry, smoke, elegant mouth-draping tannin, all buoyed by the acidity and sweet oak. The fruit and the loam play well with the oak and the mouth’s plush texture. Nice! This is a ripe wine with the perfect balance to make it pop! The finish is long, dark, smoky, with sweet spices, sweet oak, tannin, sweet tobacco, saline, some minerality, and dark chocolate lingering long. This is the best of the three kosher versions so far, in my opinion. Drink from 2026 until 2035. (tasted December 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2023 Sonoma Loeb Dignitary Chardonnay, Sonoma, CA (M) – Score: 88 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is a classic oak-and-fruit-bowl Sonoma Chardonnay, with mango, papaya, and red apples. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice enough; it has some acidity, more mango, apples, and papaya, with hints of green notes. The finish is a bit short, with more smoke and toast. Drink by 2030. (tasted December 2025) (in Miami, Florida) (ABV = 14%)

2023 Sonoma Loeb Dignitary Pinot Noir, Sonoma, CA (M) – Score: 89 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is balanced, a bit too fruity for me, but on point with smoke, herbs, cherry, plum, a bit of rose hip, and loam.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is a bit too fruity for me; it has enough acidity, and the cherry, plum, and raspberry are there with some tannin, smoke, and fruit. It does not talk to me nearly as much as other Pinot Noirs I tasted recently. The oak and tannin are a bit much, but ok. Drink by 2027. (tasted December 2025) (in Miami, Florida) (ABV = 13.5%)

2023 Sonoma Loeb Dignitary Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma, CA (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The mouth of this wine is nice; it is not the quality of the Loeb Chalk Hill, but solid with good fruit, control, and green notes. The nose is complex enough and has good pop. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is not abrasive, with great acidity and balance, showing blackberry, raspberry, and plum. The mouthfeel is controlled, as is the oak. The finish has nice tannin. Graphite and smoke, great work. Drink by 2029 (tasted December 2025) (in Miami, Florida) (ABV = 13.5%)