95 Auteur Green Acres Sonoma Coast This is a stunner, whose honeycomb, baked caramel apple and grilled pineapple flavors are intense and generous and leap out of the glass. There’s also plenty of restraint, with vibrant, crisp acidity that provides focus and energy. Details of brown butter salted shortbread, cardamom cake and marzipan linger effortlessly on the persistent finish. Drink now through 2038. 294 cases made.

93 Auteur Hyde Chardonnay Napa Carneros Dense notes of apple pastry, honeysuckle, orange sherbet and marmalade are meticulously focused and appealing, with hints of cardamom and nutmeg in the background, plus touches of lemon confit and gingersnap that expand on the juicy finish. Drink now through 2038. 294 cases made. 

93 Auteur Durell Chardonnay Sonoma Valley Grilled pineapple and lemon flavors show wonderful, fleshy density in this white, with notes of apricot, white peach, orange blossoms, jasmine and apple pastry. Offers a creamy edge, while details of marzipan, sea salt and white tea gain momentum. Drink now through 2036. 218 cases made.  

93 Auteur Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast Ripe pear, papaya and lemon curd flavors are generous and sleek in this white, offering a mouthwatering frame of acidity, with details of citron, lemon verbena and vetiver, plus toasted green tea and a touch of crushed rock minerality. Notes of wild fennel and tarragon linger. Drink now through 2037. 701 cases made.

94 Auteur Ferrington Chardonnay Anderson Valley An impressive white, whose juicy tangerine, lemon and pear flavors are sleek and focused, with fresh ginger, lemon verbena, kumquat and wild fennel pollen, plus a touch of wildflower honey, all on a vibrant frame. Gains momentum on the finish, where there's a hint of flint and a note of crunchy sea salt. Drink now through 2037. 151 cases made.

Wine Spectator Ratings List

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A limestone wall runs along the front facade of a tasting room for Auteur Wines in Sonoma County, which was designed by US architecture studio Bohlin Cywinski Jackson to prioritise a casual atmosphere and a "connection to place". The project, called Auteur Russian River, is located just outside of Healdsburg, a popular town in Northern California's wine country. It sits within the Russian River Valley, known for its verdant vineyards, redwood forests and mild climate. The brief consisted of a tasting room for the new home of Auteur Wines, which specialises in pinot noir and chardonnay wines.

https://www.dezeen.com/2026/04/25/auteur-russian-river-bohlin-cywinski-jackson-california/

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

Ferrington Vineyard

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.

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