Vinous

A Study in Purity and Coastal Tension

There is a specific kind of energy that comes with a cool-climate growing season—a “coastal tension” that demands patience in the cellar and precision in the glass. For us, the 2023 vintage is the ultimate expression of our commitment to transparency: letting the site speak for itself without the noise of heavy-handed winemaking.

From the “Chablisienne” character of our old-vine Chardonnays to the “architectural intensity” of our flagship Pinots, these scores are a testament to the vineyards we call home.

The Pinot Noir Collection

2023 Pinot Noir Wendling Vineyard | 96 Points Drinking Window: 2028 – 2036 “Wendling muscle and intensity are on full display. Shades of graphite, crushed chalk, red raspberry and iodine flesh out with focus and power, but there’s a sense of effortlessness here that is just so beguiling. Very impressive stuff.”

2023 Pinot Noir Gaps Crown Vineyard Bolt Block | 96 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2035 “Exceptional. Structured, polished and precise… rich in cherry fruit and large-ish in stature, but it blossoms in the glass with delicate layers of orange peel, licorice, lavender, underbrush and a garrigue-like savoriness. Finesse and expressiveness are dialed all the way up.”

2023 Pinot Noir Labyrinth Vineyard | 95 Points Drinking Window: 2027 – 2035 “Gorgeous savory, floral inflections open first, spreading gently into a plush yet restrained framework. The 2023 has ample inner tension, neatly offset by notably pure blue fruit. Color me impressed.”

2023 Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard | 94+ Points Drinking Window: 2028 – 2035 “Iron filings, animal blood, pine shavings, ripe raspberry and black truffle nuances sizzle in the glass. The Savoy turns inward on the finish, becoming more brooding and reserved. That bodes very well for the future.”

2023 Pinot Noir Gap’s Crown Vineyard | 94 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2033 “Especially floral for a site that tends to deliver fruitier wines, and that’s a big positive in my book. Pressed rose petal, bay leaf, crushed rocked and spiced dark cherry tones contribute to a complex display… impeccable balance.”

2023 Pinot Noir Ferrington Vineyard | 94 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2033 “Delivers the savory, dusty, complex terroir signatures of the Anderson Valley in spades. It’s not an obvious wine, leaning more cerebral than the other wines here, but I find it so enticing.”

2023 Pinot Noir Ferrington Vineyard Du Bois | 93 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2033 “Plush and textural… an extra measure of new oak here adds just the right amount of body. The 2023 is so enticing, more overt than some of the other wines in the range, but deep and complex all the same.”

2023 Pinot Noir Pali Vineyard | 93 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2033 “Expresses the regional signatures of crunchy red fruit, pressed rose petal, orange peel and lavender, all accented by an edge of salinity. It’s delicate, polished and finessed.”

2023 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast) | 92 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2031 “A fabulous reflection of everything that’s great about Pinot Noir in the Sonoma Coast. A wine of texture, gentle energy and fine structure, the 2023 hits all the right notes.”

2023 Pinot Noir Balinard Vineyard | 92 Points Drinking Window: 2028 – 2032 “A very young, tightly wound wine. It’s on the delicate side for the Russian River Valley, but it boasts a ton of power and tannin here.”

2023 Pinot Noir Attune Vineyard | 92 Points Drinking Window: 2028 – 2032 “Savory, mineral-driven inflections open first, with a marine-tinged array of nori, oyster shell, cedar and bitter cherry skin that gains momentum with aeration.”

The Chardonnay Collection

2023 Chardonnay Ferrington Vineyard | 95 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2033 “A tense, grippy, phenolic wine that announces itself with a confident structure and understated power. What a distinctive reflection of Anderson Valley.”

2023 Chardonnay Bacigalupi Vineyard | 94 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2032 “Classic Russian River all the way. Rounded and ripe, it maintains restraint and finesse… every bit a driven, focused wine that is utterly drinkable and impeccably balanced.”

2023 Chardonnay Durell Vineyard | 94 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2032 “Generous and open-knit, with great focus to its layers of yellow plum, pear and iodine. Impresses with its weight and density without any heaviness.”

2023 Chardonnay Green Acres Vineyard Vieux Chene | 94 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2032 “Savory, potent and intensely aromatic. Slight reductive elements flash up from the glass, with a very old-school, Chablisienne character. Seriously textural and beautifully focused.”

2023 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard | 93 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2031 “Loaded with texture, as wines from Hyde tend to be… Bright, vibrant acids lead the charge, with an array of crushed chalk, sea salt and lemon zest blasting through the finish.”

2023 Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast) | 92 Points Drinking Window: 2026 – 2032 “Bright, clear and citrusy… yellow orchard fruit, chamomile, lemon zest and lemon-like acidity run through the steely, driven finish. It’s a fabulous introduction to the range.”

Between the 97-point score from JebDunnuck.com and the Forbes seal of approval as a Top American Pinot, Savoy has firmly established itself as a crown jewel of our Anderson Valley portfolio. That being said, the 95-point Anderson Valley Appellation wine is truly the ‘best of the best’ blend—a curated blend of Savoy, Ferrington, and Wendling. These three premium, meticulously tended parcels represent the very peak of Anderson Valley viticulture.

Undeniably beautiful. Expression of cassis, forest mushroom, and a hint of sea air. 

While these 95-97 point releases are currently in the memberber archives, we invite you to join our community for our upcoming offerings.

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MENDOCINO’S BEST: Anderson Valley, Mendocino Ridge, and Inland Standouts

By Virginie Boone

February 5, 2026

Vintage 2023 on the other hand was long and slow, with below-average temperatures during the summer, extending the time of maturity. Picking went well into October and even early November without moisture, making for an excellent growing season and wines of vibrant elegance and freshness. Still, I was surprised to see high-alcohol levels on many 2023 wines, suggesting that ripening window might have extended too long for some.

While it’s too soon to say exactly how the 2024s turned out without tasting a lot more wines, the vintage was relatively ideal – not too hot (with the exception of extreme heat in early July, with some fruit loss), not too cool, without smoke or fire drama, and the benefits of hearty winter rains and good flowering conditions. Grapes were harvested on the earlier side as a result of the July heat.

Between the 97-point score from JebDunnuck.com and the Forbes seal of approval, this vineyard has firmly established itself as the crown jewel of the Anderson Valley.

Read Full Article Here 

Usually it’s French winemakers establishing themselves in America, not the other way around.

The International Debut: Auteur Burgundy
Robb Report Exclusive

While modern California winemaking is filled with the names of French natives leaving a mark there—like Michel Rolland, Philippe Melka, Jean-Charles Boisset, and Julien Fayard—there is almost no flip side to that story. Enter Kenneth Juhasz, proprietor of Auteur in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, who was captivated by Burgundy as a young wine lover on a trip that steered him into his lifelong occupation. After working harvests and consulting in Willamette Valley, New Zealand, Napa, and Sonoma, he has been honing his craft and perfecting his technique with site-specific Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at Auteur since 2003. Adding to his repertoire, Juhasz is about to release the extremely limited production Auteur 2023 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru from a highly prized site in Gevrey-Chambertin.

Auteur 2023 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru is ruby to the eye and has aromas of cherry, pomegranate, cotton candy, and violet. Plush tannins are wrapped around flavors of pomegranate, cranberry, black cherry, vanilla, and candied orange peel that culminate in a vivid finish. With so few bottles available, we know we are not alone in our keen anticipation of the next round of Burgundy releases from Auteur

Starting with the Fall 2025 harvest, we transition from curation to creation—moving into full production under our own hand in Meursault alongside my Burgundian-brother, Pierre-Henri Rougeot. Our permanent footprint in the Côte d’Or will draw from a portfolio of revered appellations, including: Gevrey-Chambertin, Meursault, Corton & Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Chassagne-Montrachet.

Full Article Here

Learn More on Auteur Grand Cru

“The most beautifully designed new winery of 2025 was, indisputedly, Auteur.”

THE BEST NEW WINE TASTING ROOMS OF 2025 WERE ALMOST ALL IN ONE CITY, AND IT’S NOT NAPA.

By Jess Lander, Dec 23, 2025

The most exciting wine tasting room openings of 2025 have two notable themes: location and longevity.

Five of the seven openings on this list are in Healdsburg, which is closing the gap on its yearslong campaign to dethrone Napa as the top destination in Wine Country. The wine industry is desperate to attract millennials and Generation Z, and Healdsburg is poised to become their home base as more traditional brands are replaced by smaller, vanguard wineries beloved by the under-45 set. Six of these seven new tasting rooms were also, arguably, a long time coming: They’re the first-ever homes of brands that have been around for at least a decade — some more than 20 years — and it was worth the wait. (The seventh is an expansion of a winery founded in 2003).

These openings are especially meaningful at a moment when there are likely more tasting room closures than openings in Wine Country. In 2024, for the first time in a generation, the number of U.S. wineries declined, according to Wine Business Analytics, and California wineries spent 2025 treading water through a litany of challenges — including a wine and grape oversupply, increased production costs due to tariffs and anti-alcohol health messaging.

So add these tasting rooms to your 2026 itinerary. Each one promises distinct wines from a respected brand in a contemporary setting — and if you plan right, you could hit nearly all of them in a single weekend.

Auteur Wines
The most beautifully designed new winery of 2025 was, indisputedly, Auteur.This hilltop estate in California’s famed Russian River Valley boasts panoramic vineyard and forest views through a 50-foot-long wall of windows. Winemaker Kenneth Juhasz started Auteur more than 20 years ago as a side project with his wife, Laura. The brand slowly amassed a cult-like following for its elegant coastal Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, eventually opening a tasting room inside a bungalow on the Sonoma Plaza in 2012. That space remains open, but the drive out to the new estate is worth it for the views alone. The modular building blends into the surrounding nature; the interior, featuring natural woods, a charred redwood fireplace and cozy tasting nooks, feels especially warm on one of the Russian River’s signature foggy days. When the sun’s out, the terrace is where to be. Tastings (from $40) include an unconventional blind tasting experience. Guests can also add food pairings, such as an epi bread, caviar, and a cheese board curated by Laura Juhasz, a former Wisconsin cheesemaker.Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir legend Cobb Wines opened its first-ever tasting room in downtown Healdsburg.

Cobb Wines
One of California’s most revered Pinot Noir brands finally has a tasting room. Cobb Wines planted roots in downtown Healdsburg, a much more convenient meeting point than its remote Sonoma Coast vineyard. Owner and winemaker Ross Cobb’s resume includes California Pinot stalwarts Williams Selyem, Hirsch and Flowers, and he refined his distinct winemaking style through more than a dozen intensive research trips to Burgundy. While he’s best known for his balanced, restrained Pinot Noirs, he also makes Chardonnay and a trio of Rieslings. The eccentric winemaker is sharing the cozy, brick-laden space with a winemaking client, Furthermore Wines; Cobb hosts tastings ($50-$75, by appointment) during the day, while Furthermore transforms it into an evening jazz club on weekends.

Marietta Cellars
This modern tasting room is not what you’d expect from a 47-year-old wine brand, but that’s the point. Marietta produces one of the most recognizable red wines in the U.S., Old Vine Red, priced at $19. You won’t find that at its new Healdsburg tasting room, designed to introduce a more sophisticated side of Marietta that’s emerged since the second generation took over. The tasting room offers two flights for $35. One focuses on single-vineyard wines, such as a Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon, while the other highlights more experimental wines, like a pink-ish blend of Grenache Gris and Trousseau Gris. Set within a former police station (the bathrooms were once holding cells), pops of color brighten up the striking concrete walls, while antique furnishings and a massive, floating branch add warmth and character to the polished space.

Martha Stoumen
This beloved natural wine brand is another new addition to the Healdsburg Plaza. Founded in 2014, Martha Stoumen recently joined the nascent Overshine Collective — a group of brands targeted at millennials and Gen Z — alongside fellow Sonoma County stars Idlewild and Reeve. As a result, founder and winemaker Martha Stoumen finally had the capital to realize her long-held dream of opening a tasting room, which pours wines made from esoteric grapes like Nero d’Avola, Colombard and Carignan. The walk-in-friendly space stays open until 9 p.m. on weekends and features natural tones with accents of cork, wood and copper. (Stoumen hired the designer of Bar Gemini, a San Francisco natural wine bar.) Flights of six wines ($40) come with popcorn and a fun novelty: a vintage viewfinder, which tells the story of the wines through a series of photos. Visitors can also come in for a glass of wine or share a bottle.

Wayfarer Vineyard
Hidden within an unassuming Healdsburg warehouse, Wayfarer is the first tasting room for the West Sonoma Coast winery founded in 2012 by Cleo Pahlmeyer (whose father started Napa Valley’s famed Pahlmeyer). Following a tour of the industrial winery, visitors walk up a steep flight of metal stairs to find a charming glass box with chic furnishings, where private tastings ($75-$125, by appointment) of Wayfarer’s light, vibrant Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays take place. Mesmerizing drone footage of Wayfarer’s rugged vineyard, located four miles from the Pacific, projects on the winery wall, transporting guests to the faraway site. No spoilers, but expect a few surprises throughout the visit.

Lewis Cellars
The debut home of Napa’s Lewis Cellars is best described as decadent. The bathroom features checkerboard floors, teal-tiled walls, an intricate floral ceiling and a surrealist painting. There’s no blank space to be found. Lewis, part of the Wonderful Co. empire (which also includes Fiji water, Pom juice and Justin Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles), opened its opulent winery inside the former home of Robert Sinskey Vineyards following a two-year renovation. The brand, which was founded in 1992 by professional racecar driver Randy Lewis, was purchased by Wonderful Co. in 2021. It didn’t have a formal tasting room until now, however. Tastings (from $80) of Lewis’ bold, full-bodied wines come with spectacular views overlooking Napa’s Silverado Trail; they can also be upgraded with food pairings from chef Rachel Haggstrom, who oversees the one-Michelin-starred kitchen at Justin Vineyards. Before you leave, ask to peek inside the Salon Prive if no one is occupying it. This tiny, private room offers an experience unlike any other in Napa Valley for a whopping $950.

Ellman Estate
For decades, anyone pulling over at the intersection of Napa Valley’s Silverado Trail and Soda Canyon Road was likely stopping at the historic Soda Canyon Store, the lone spot on the entire highway to grab coffee or a casual lunch, which recently closed without warning. Now, they’re likely visiting Ellman, a swanky new winery located directly across from the shuttered store. Brothers Neil and Lance Ellman, third-generation mattress manufacturing titans, have been making wine under their eponymous label since 2007. After a 10-year permitting and building process, they’ve finally debuted their winery and tasting room, which resembles a posh living room complete with custom modernist furniture, a fireplace, collectible art and a vast open kitchen. Floor-to-ceiling windows reveal a gorgeous view of the estate vineyard. Take note of the rhino statue, a nod to the Ellmans’ South African roots, on the edge of the irrigation pond. Tastings ($175, by appointment) include a tour of the winery and a flight of Bordeaux-inspired wines made by famed Napa winemaking consultant Andy Erickson.

ARTICLE LINK

Top American Wines to Drink this Fourth of July. Featuring — Auteur Savoy Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2022, California
“Founders Kenneth and Laura Juhasz bottle small-lot expressions of some of California’s most exquisite sites for cultivating pinot noir—and this one from Anderson Valley is one of my favorites. Old growth redwood forests give way to rolling vineyards in this still-quiet winemaking region—and the vines make wines with tension, purity and brightness. Raspberry-cherry fruit, savory minerality and a hint of earth and violet make this one a great American classic.”

Katie Kelly Bell, Forbes Food + Wine Contributor

https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiebell/2025/06/26/11-delicious-american-wines-to-drink-this-4th-of-july/

96 POINTS | AUTEUR GAPS CROWN BOLT BLOCK PINOT 2022 ~ Selected from an unusually rocky block of the vineyard, the 2022 Pinot Noir Gap’s Crown Vineyard Bolt Block is a deep red/purple hue and displays the more savory and sanguine side of this site, which is usually more fruit forward and giving. Its rockier terrain shines and adds complexity to the wine, with notes of black cherries, crushed violets, gravelly earth, and wild herbs. Aged for 15 months in 80% new French oak, it integrates into the fabric of the wine nicely. Medium to full-bodied, this wine exhibits notable structure and a more serious character, with a more ferrous side that I particularly enjoy.
I anticipate it has the potential to age over the next two decades.

95 POINTS | AUTEUR MANCHESTER RIDGE PINOT NOIR 2022 ~ Pouring a deeper magenta/red color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Manchester Ridge Vineyard is from the highest vineyard in the Mendocino Ridge AVA, at 2000 feet elevation, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It’s aromatic of refreshing alpine herbs, sappy earth, pine, black cherries, violets, and crushed floral perfume. It has great sapidity and mid-palate richness without being heavy and retains wonderful purity. It has a long finish and is going to show well over the coming 15 years.

2022 Auteur Pinot Noir Gap’s Crown Bolt Block 96 $85
2022 Auteur Pinot Noir Manchester Ridge Vineyard 95 $85
2022 Auteur Chardonnay Green Acres Vineyard 94 $65
2022 Auteur Pinot Noir Labyrinth Vineyard 94 $85
2022 Auteur Pinot Noir Gap’s Crown Vineyard 94 $85
2022 Auteur Pinot Noir Wendling Vineyard 94 $85
2022 Auteur Pinot Noir Balinard Vineyard 93 $85
2022 Auteur Pinot Noir Starkey Vineyard 93+ $85
2022 Auteur Chardonnay Durell Vineyard 92 $65
2022 Auteur Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 91 $50
2022 Auteur Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 91 $60

** Contact us to acquire at connect@auteurwines.com

SONOMA VINTAGE REPORT OF 2022 >>
Reflecting on that report, I stand behind my remarks that this vintage offers immediate appeal, with wide drinking windows, especially compared to the more structured 2021s. The aromatics lean toward attractive, fruit-driven profiles with savory nuances and approachable structures. The vintage’s top wines offer elegance, purity, and wonderful definition. In particular, the wines from the Sonoma Coast have excelled in 2022, providing some of the highlights of my numerous and extensive tastings. – Jeb Dunnuck

Spending the last 20 years charged up about how to we can redefine Chardonnay — it’s enormously rewarding to see the shift in this paradigm from one of wine’s biggest influencers across the world. Wine Spectator is finally recognizing the major pendulum swing of Chardonnay in the United States, offering Auteur a nice feature in the July Issue, “All About White Wine”. For our longtime supporters, you are aware we’ve embraced this style all along. We will always continue to craft whites that are racy, fresh and vibrant without the “lactic” buttery overtones, while nurturing our partnerships with well-farmed vineyards all along Northern California, keeping the wines true to their regionality.

94 Points Ferrington Chardonnay — “Sleek, focused flavors of juicy tangering, lemon and pear show ginger, kumquat and wild fennel pollen on a vibrant frame” WS

92 Points Bacigalupi Chardonnay — “Grilled peach, orange blossom notes are fresh and juicy on plush, fleshy frame. Wildflower honey emerge on the finish.” WS

Enjoy these beautiful Chardonnays aligned with the New American palate. One that fully embraces exotic profiles and freshness of flavors.
Please contact us to access these collectibles.

~ BOTH Auteur Sonoma Bungalow + Auteur Russian River Hit the 2025 Top Wineries to Visit in Sonoma by Esther Mobley of The San Francisco Chronicle. We are thrilled to amongst such great Sonoma legends and new producers. Check out the read here — See the full List!

“This new Russian River Estate is nestled into a hillside near the Michelin-starred Farmhouse Inn. “It’s a hidden gem that feels both tucked away and worth the journey,” Juhasz says. “With a 50-foot glass wall framing expansive vineyard views and large doors that open to the terrace, the boundary between indoors and outdoors practically disappears. It’s warm, welcoming, and hard to leave.”

Read Here