Press
100 Pt Score
Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
“A stylish, polished wine — super-suave and expressive, with rich, perfectly weighted fruit and gorgeous, super-fine tannins infused with an iron-scented minerality. Beautifully compact yet intensely juicy, it bursts with red and black fruit, layered with gravelly mineral depth. The exceptional tension and structure give it poise and balance, making it a masterful effort that radiates freshness, precision and impeccable harmony.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
2022 Vintage Highlights
Jeb Dunnuck
2022 Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
“…Gorgeous aromas of ripe black cherries, currants, chocolate, and chalky minerality… it’s medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and seamless on the palate, with perfectly integrated oak. This is a remarkable achievement in 2022 that will keep for 15+ years.”
— Jeb Dunnuck
Decanter
2022 Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
“A stylish, polished wine—super-suave and expressive, with rich, perfectly weighted fruit and gorgeous, super-fine tannins infused with an iron-scented minerality. Beautifully compact yet intensely juicy, it bursts with red and black fruit, layered with gravelly mineral depth. The exceptional tension and structure give it poise and balance, making it a masterful effort that radiates freshness, precision and impeccable harmony.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
Decanter
2022 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
“This wine carries a wonderful Left Bank character, with elegant red berry fruit and rich volcanic crushed stone minerality, accented by bay laurel and sage. These elements find their footing on the medium-to full-bodied palate, where velvety-textured tannins frame layers of mocha, more bay laurel, and white pepper, adding nuance and depth. The finish is long and refined, leaving lingering notes of earth and conifer.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
More Accolades
Decanter
February 2025
“A stylish, polished wine—super-suave and expressive, with rich, perfectly weighted fruit and gorgeous, super-fine tannins infused with an iron-scented minerality. Beautifully compact yet intensely juicy, it bursts with red and black fruit, layered with gravelly mineral depth. The exceptional tension and structure give it poise and balance, making it a masterful effort that radiates freshness, precision and impeccable harmony.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
Jeb Dunnuck
April 2025
“…Delivers beautiful vibrancy, with red, blue, and black fruits intermixed with chocolate, violets, sappy flowers, and chalky minerality… it’s medium to full-bodied and elegant, with beautifully integrated oak and a seamless texture.”
— Jeb Dunnuck
Vinous
December 2024
“The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch is terrific. Rich and ample in the glass, with terrific forward fruit, the 2022 impresses with its lifted aromatics and fine balance. Red cherry, blood orange, cedar and sweet pipe tobacco are nicely amplified. The 2022 is a revelation. It’s certainly one of the finer wines of the vintage. All of this fruit is from Block 2. Look for this to be a star going forward.”
— Antonio Galloni
The Wine Palate
July 2025
“It erupts from the glass with bold notes of baked plums and boysenberry preserves, leading to a core of crème de cassis, cedar chest, and graphite with a touch of tar. The full-bodied palate is jam-packed with baked black fruits with firm, grainy tannins and a lively line, finishing long and earthy.”
— Lisa Perotti-Brown
James Suckling
April 2025
“A big, dark and luscious wine from a noted single vineyard. It shows such great chocolaty depth and fragrant black cherries, creme de cassis and pencil shavings on the nose, followed by broad black fruit on a velvety texture. Full-bodied, complex and stunning, showing how good the challenging 2022 vintage can be. Drink or hold.”
— Jim Gordon
Jeb Dunnuck
April 2025
“…Gorgeous aromas of ripe black cherries, currants, chocolate, and chalky minerality… it’s medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and seamless on the palate, with perfectly integrated oak. This is a remarkable achievement in 2022 that will keep for 15+ years.”
— Jeb Dunnuck
James Suckling
April 2025
“Vivid, focused, full-bodied and firmly tannic. This well-structured wine wraps fine-grained tannins around bright red fruit and deeper, duskier black fruit. Raspberries, dark cherries, baking spices, cocoa and cinnamon on the palate, with a finish that echoes for quite a while.”
— Jim Gordon
Decanter
February 2025
“A powerful yet fresh wine, it carries remarkable tension. The nose reveals bay laurel and sage, interwoven with dusty minerality and vibrant currant fruit. Full-bodied on the palate, it features granular tannins, lifted by blood orange acidity, and a gravelly crushed-stone minerality. Layers of incense and smoked paprika emerge through the lengthy, complex finish, giving this wine depth and drive.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
The Wine Palate
July 2025
“Deep garnet-purple colored, it springs with vibrant notes of blueberry pie and black cherry compote, leading to suggestions of Chinese five spice, dried herbs, and camphor. The full-bodied palate is rich and impactful with firm, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and spicy.”
— Lisa Perotti-Brown
Decanter
February 2025
“This wine carries a wonderful Left Bank character, with elegant red berry fruit and rich volcanic crushed stone minerality, accented by bay laurel and sage. These elements find their footing on the medium-to full-bodied palate, where velvety-textured tannins frame layers of mocha, more bay laurel, and white pepper, adding nuance and depth. The finish is long and refined, leaving lingering notes of earth and conifer.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
Jeb Dunnuck
April 2025
“Offers a gorgeous nose of both red and black fruits, leather, graphite, and chalky minerality…it’s medium to full-bodied and balanced, with beautiful tannins and smoky nuances. Drink over the coming 10-12 years.”
— Jeb Dunnuck
James Suckling
April 2025
“Beautiful, silky and layered, offering bright red cherry and raspberry aromas followed by a full body and gorgeous red and black cherry flavors. So well balanced, moderately tannic, creamy and enjoyable to drink now.”
— Jim Gordon
Decanter
May 2024
“Incredibly polished and refined with no hard edges. Superfine tannins are intricate and lengthy, underscored by a firm spine of lacy acidity. The fruit profile is pure, ripe, and succulent, with a density lifted by that bright spine of acidity. Flavors and aromas of blackberry and black cherry are nuanced by crushed cocoa nibs, tobacco and rich earth on the lengthy finish. Gorgeous now and capable of long-term cellaring.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
The Wine Palate
July 2025
“Deep garnet-purple colored, it bursts with bold notes of warm cassis and plum preserves, plus nuances of Indian spice, unsmoked cigars, and licorice with a waft of bay leaves. The full-bodied palate is densely packed with black fruit layers, framed by firm, grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long with wonderful purity.”
— Lisa Perotti-Brown
Jeb Dunnuck
December 2023
“This dense, inky-hued effort offers a killer bouquet of chocolaty dark fruits, dried herbs, tobacco, and loamy earth. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it stays balanced and has ultra-fine tannins and a great finish.”
— Jeb Dunnuck
James Suckling
August 2024
“Luscious, deep and concentrated in black fruit and dark chocolate, braced by dense, massive fine-grained tannins that bode well for aging. Dark spices, star anise, black cherries, baked blueberries and touches of vanilla bean and tobacco. Best from 2030.”
— Jim Gordon
Wine Spectator
November 2024
“This is rich and dense, offering steeped plum, black currant and boysenberry reduction notes welded together with graphite, licorice root and walnut husk accents. There’s a broad feel and a deep tug of warm loam through the finish, with ample energy in reserve.”
— James Molesworth
James Suckling
August 2024
“Luscious, deep and concentrated in black fruit and dark chocolate, braced by dense, massive fine-grained tannins that bode well for aging. Dark spices, star anise, black cherries, baked blueberries and touches of vanilla bean and tobacco. Best from 2030.”
— Jim Gordon
Wine Spectator
November 2024
“This is rich and dense, offering steeped plum, black currant and boysenberry reduction notes welded together with graphite, licorice root and walnut husk accents. There’s a broad feel and a deep tug of warm loam through the finish, with ample energy in reserve.”
— James Molesworth
Jeb Dunnuck
December 2023
“The Las Piedras Vineyard seems to have hit another level over the past couple of years, and the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Las Piedras Vineyard is a prime example of the quality and style of this St. Helena site. Gorgeous red and black fruits, graphite, baking spices, and chocolate all give way to a medium to full-bodied, ultra-pure, seamless, finesse-driven Cabernet Sauvignon…”
— Jeb Dunnuck
The Wine Palate
July 2025
“…notes of fresh black currants, juicy blackberries, and cedar chest, leading to suggestions of garrigue, lavender, and dusty soil. The full-bodied palate delivers a sturdy structure of firm, grainy tannins and well-knit freshness to support the muscular black fruits, finishing long and earthy.”
— Lisa Perotti-Brown
Decanter
May 2024
“A purity of fruit comes forth in this wine in the blue-fruit spectrum with hints of black and violets, cassis, and liquorice. Full-bodied with silky tannins, blackberry fruit, blueberry compote, and wonderfully rich mocha spices that thread a sweet line interrupted by savoury notes of salty minerals on the long finish. It is super attractive and polished.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
James Suckling
August 2024
“This first vintage from a new Napa winery is packed with red and black fruit and firm, fine-grained tannins that will help it age gracefully. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, it offers raspberries, blueberries, savory hints of sage and a chalky, minerally feel. Fruit reemerges on the palate and speeds through the finish. Full-bodied. Drink or hold.”
— Jim Gordon
Wine Spectator
November 2024
“Lush, forward and seductive in feel, with creamy notes of mulberry, blackberry and plum sauce that glide over a polished, fine-grained structure. Offers melted licorice and fruitcake accents alongside a flash of iris on the finish… Drink now through 2038.”
— James Molesworth
Decanter
May 2024
“This wine is intensely aromatic, pure, and bright with lifted dark berry fruit, sagebrush, and earthy minerality with lilacs. Medium to full-bodied with the finest tannins, a slight chocolaty edge, and mouthwatering blood-orange acidity on the finish. Seamless.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
Jeb Dunnuck
December 2023
“The appellation 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is well worth your time and money. Blended with a splash of Petit Verdot, it has a terrific array of red, blue, and black fruits intermixed with notions of graphite, spring flowers, and an undeniable sense of minerality. Its balanced, has remarkable purity, fine tannins, and outstanding length. It’s already delicious and impossible to resist, and I see no need to delay gratification, although I have no doubt it has over a decade of prime drinking in it.”
— Jeb Dunnuck
James Suckling
August 2024
“Polished, focused and velvety… With a majority of the grapes coming from Stags Leap District, it’s full-bodied and harmonious, with light, silky tannins and delicious black cherries, star anise and blackcurrants. Drink or hold.”
— Jim Gordon
The Wine Palate
July 2025
“It springs from the glass with vibrant scents of black raspberries and black currant jelly with hints of cardamom, menthol, and pencil lead. The medium to full-bodied palate has a plush texture and refreshing backbone framing the exuberant black fruit flavors, finishing with a minty lift.”
— Lisa Perotti-Brown
Features
Top 100: Annulus Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
“This is rich and dense, offering steeped plum, black currant and boysenberry reduction notes welded together with graphite, licorice root and walnut husk accents…”
— James Molesworth
“Annulus is the ultimate limited-production, family- run Napa label… “We had been in Napa Valley for 20 years,” Evnin says. “We collected Napa Valley Cabernet for most of that time, and we got to know a decent number of the vintners and sat at their tables and heard their stories and what they were trying to do…”
— James Molesworth and MaryAnn Worobiec
“The best thing about this list is that almost every single wine on here, even the oldest vintages, should still be drinking well. The second-best thing is that all of the more recent vintages still have years of life left in them and can be opened in a decade or two…With that in mind, we have chosen the 50 Greatest Cabernet Sauvignons of the Century so far.”
— Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jensen
“Annulus is debuting with three wines, two single-vineyard bottlings and a Napa Valley cuvée crafted by the powerhouse team of well-known Napa winemaker Nigel Kinsman and consulting enologist Michel Rolland…”
— Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen
“For this family… Annulus Cellars wines would reflect the heart of winemaking in their beloved valley, where families place every… fiber of their being into their wines…”
— Cathrine Todd
“Kinsman’s classical approach [and]… focus on highlighting purity of fruit and vineyard expression leads to beautifully balanced, complex wines with great aging potential.”
— Fran Miller
“Annulus’s first release of its sumptuous trio of Cabernet Sauvignons was received with great fanfare by the wine press…it’s almost certain that your favorite wine drinker doesn’t have any of this in their cellar yet.”
— Mike DeSimone & Jeff Jensen
“The dream team has been assembled, and the fruits of their labor will dazzle your palate.”
— Matthew Kaner
“Launched this year, Annulus… sources grapes from Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard and Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard, first planted in the 1840s and 1884, respectively…”
— Jillian Dara
“A quintessential Napa Cabernet, this wine delivers vibrant fruit flavors of plum and blackberry, supported by well-integrated oak and hints of vanilla.”
— Kara Ellis
“Kinsman’s classical approach emphasizes purity of fruit and vineyard expression, resulting in wines that reflect their unique origins rather than a standardized style.”
— Sunset Magazine Editors
“[Annulus] inspired by the circle of family and friends with whom proprietors Luke Evnin and Deann Wright… honors exceptional, historic, family-owned Napa Valley vineyards.”
—Alison Bailin
“The 2022 Annulus Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet is a wine for drinkers who love richly fruity reds with gorgeous aromas, exceptional balance, and bright notes of cherry, tobacco and cedar.”
— Elin McCoy