in the press
2024 Cattleya Wine Reviews
Sonoma Coast
2024 Chardonnay
A textural, aromatic wine with incredible length and concentration, showing Anjou pears, saltwater, orange blossoms and hints of subtle spices. This has a silky, seamless mouthfeel with waves of cascading acidity and creaminess, plus a finish that evolves for a long time. Delicious. Drink or hold.
– James Suckling
The 2024 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay pops from the glass with expressive notes of juicy peaches and pears, followed by hints of honeysuckle, croissant, and fresh ginger. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers a satiny texture and a refreshing line to support the intense orchard fruit layers, finishing long and spicy. This is fermented and aged in about 65% new French oak.
—Lisa Perrotti-Brown / The Wine Palate
A bright straw color, the 2024 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast has pleasing light reduction. There wasn’t enough wine for a single-vineyard bottling, but this wine is in no way a step down in quality. Flinty wet stones lead to tropical mango, melon, candied citrus, and creamy pastry cream texture. It has concentration from tiny berries and a high skin-to-juice ratio, with lovely hazelnut tones on the close. Supple and long on the palate, drink it over the coming 10 years. Drink 2026-2036.
—Jeb Dunnuck | Sonoma Report
Vibrant aromas of nectarine, Gala apple, fresh cream, sweet pineapple, and white flowers overflow the glass on the nose of this Chardonnay. The palate delivers layers of rich texture and acidity with flavors of baked pear tart, sweet cinnamon, lemon curd, orange blossoms, and minced herbs along a plush, rounded finish.
– Tom R. Capo – Wine Enthusiast
The 2024 Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast) is a blend of Sunchase and Nightwing. It’s crystal clear, precise and just rich enough to give you something to grab onto. Floral-inflected pear, orange peel and nutmeg lead to a tinge of tropicality that lends a bit of exoticism. This is beautifully open-knit and expressive today.
—Bill Norris / Vinous
Sonoma Coast
2024 Pinot Noir
An aromatic, pure and focused wine, showing cool blue fruit, raspberries, violets and a hint of chalky minerality. Medium-bodied. A plush midpalate with juicy acidity and fresh fruit flavors leads to a long, delicious and mouthwatering finish. Drink or hold.
– James Suckling
Deep ruby-purple in color, the 2024 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir bursts with evocative notes of black cherries and juicy raspberries, plus touches of mulberries and underbrush with a waft of spice box. The medium to full-bodied palate reveals fine-grained tannins with a racy line to match the intense red and black fruit layers, finishing long with a peppery lift.
— Lisa Perrotti-Brown | The Wine Palate
Lovely and delineated aromas of dusty berries, spiced plum, black tea, and roses erupt from the glass on the nose of this Pinot. The palate balances zesty acidity with finely textured tannin framing robust flavors of baked black cherry, berry gastrique, fried shiitake, cola spices, Darjeeling, and flowers that continue to blossom all along the finish. Delicious now, this will reward patience.
– Tom R. Capo – Wine Enthusiast
A deeper red/purple-toned color, the 2024 Pinot Noir
Sonoma Coast has ripe tannins, dark cherries, warming spice, dark stones, graphite, and toasty aromatics. Medium to full-bodied, it has decadence and richness but also enough structure to improve over the coming 12-15 years. It definitely carries some warmth. Drink 2026-2041.
— Jeb Dunnuck
The 2024 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast) is approachable and balanced, but also pretty tight at this stage. Liqueur-like notes of dark cherry fruit, turned earth and amaro-like savory herbs lead to chalky tannins that pull taut on the finish. This is a fine entry-level Pinot Noir, more drinkable and less complex than usual, but delicious nonetheless. This fruit is entirely from Nightwing.
— Bill Norris | Vinous
Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
2024 Belly of the Whale
Medium to deep ruby-purple in color, the 2024 Belly of the Whale Pinot Noir rolls out of the glass with ready-to-go notes of ripe, juicy blueberries and fresh blackberries, giving way to hints of violets, tar, and wild sage. The medium to full-bodied palate is laden with dense blue and black fruit layers, framed by firm, fine-grained tannins and a racy line, finishing long and fragrant.
— Lisa Perrotti-Brown | The Wine Palate
The 2024 Pinot Noir Belly of the Whale is deep but
inviting, with minty lift and stony graphite tones. Pouring a deep purple-tinged ruby color, it offers cherry cordial, pressed flowers, and gorgeous perfume. Medium to full-bodied, it has decadence but zero heaviness or sweetness, with refined, supple, silky tannins. I really love this wine in the range. Drink over the coming 15 or more years. Drink 2026-2045.
—Jeb Dunnuck
From a high-elevation vineyard on the Sonoma Coast, this is a concentrated, full-bodied and blue-fruited pinot, showing juicy tannins with pomegranate and wild-blue- berry flavors. Wonderful natural acidity gives the wine a lot of lift. Subtle spice notes emerge with time in the glass. Drink or hold.
—James Suckling
Sourced from Sun Chase Vineyard, the 2024 Pinot Noir Belly of the Whale is the highlight of the Cattleya range this year. It delivers Bibiana González Rave’s hallmark juxtaposition of bright acids against rich vintage-2024 fruit, all wrapped together in a mid-weight, precise frame. Black cherry, kirsch, blood orange and wild herbs give the 2024 a feeling of exoticism, but it remains balanced from start to finish. A lovely effort.
— Bill Norris | Vinous
Aromas of baked raspberry, fried shiitake, and root beer spices jump from the glass on the nose of this Pinot. The palate is concentrated and intense, with potent tannin balanced by focused acidity and flavors of pomegranate, pithy orange peel, violets, black tea, cinnamon, and clove throughout the long, plush finish.
– Tom R. Capo – Wine Enthusiast
West Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
2024 The Goddess
The 2024 Pinot Noir The Goddess is a brighter, more ruby-toned color and is aromatic with sandalwood and toasted incense. As it opens, it becomes more vibrant and pure, with bright red fruit, rose petals, raspberries, electric energy, and terrific verticality. Its creamy, even tannins are elegant and smooth. Drink over the coming 15-20 years. Drink 2026-2046.
— Jeb Dunnuck
This wine has such beautiful aromas, you can’t stop sniffing it. Peonies, violets and even jasmine mingle with tangerine juice and fresh wild herbs. The palate is equally compelling, showing succulent berry flavors, bitter flowers and exotic spices. Medium-bodied with nice concentration and a long, mouthwatering finish. Sourced from Paul Hobbs Goldrock. Estate. Drink or hold.
—James Suckling
Medium to deep ruby-purple in color, the 2024 The Goddess Pinot Noir skyrockets out of the glass with intense notes of fresh raspberries and red cherries with a fragrant undercurrent of red roses, cardamom, and tilled soil, plus a waft of orange peel. The medium to full-bodied palate has taut, fine-grained tannins and great tension supporting the stacked red berry layers, finishing long and perfumed.
— Lisa Perrotti-Brown | The Wine Palate
Bright aromas of baked raspberry, plum coulis, cranberry, shiitake, licorice, and violets pop from the glass on the nose of this joyful Pinot. The palate possesses grippy tannin and zippy acidity framing flavors of roasted cherry, cedar, balsamic, rose petals, and chopped green herbs at the finish. A little time in the cellar will really lift the gorgeous aromatics here.
– Tom R. Capo, Wine Enthusiast
The 2024 Pinot Noir The Goddess, 100% from the Hobbs Goldrock estate in the West Sonoma Coast, is very bright and sexy today. However, a subtly muted mid-palate and tense finish point to a wine that still needs time to come together. Black licorice, forest floor and black raspberry tones sink deeply into the palate, gaining intensity with time in the glass. Give this one a couple of years to sort itself out. There’s plenty of promise.
— Bill Norris | Vinous
Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah
2024 The Initiation
Dense aromas of black currant, black plum and violet are stunningly lavish on the nose of this bottling. The palate is creamy and chalky at the same time, presenting those same purple fruit and floral flavors as well as lavender, black pepper and fennel pollen.
—Tom R. Capo – Wine Enthusiast
Supple and long on the palate, the 2024 Syrah The Initiation reveals blackberry coulis, savory pine, lavender, rosemary oils, and a creamy, full-bodied texture. It has a lot to love and is already approachable now. Drink over the next 10-12 years. Drink 2026-2038.
—Jeb Dunnuck
An intense, aromatic, silky and full-bodied wine with luscious dark fruit and floral and umami undertones. Mushrooms, redwood forest, crushed wild blackberries and cherry pie notes. Changes so much in the glass that it’s hard to pin down. Approachable now, but it has much to reveal with time. Drink or hold.
—James Suckling
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2024 The Initiation Syrah charges out with powerful notes of blackberry compote and blueberry pie, followed by nuances of black pepper, wild thyme, and lilacs with a touch of smoked meats. The full-bodied palate is packed with spiced black fruit layers, framed by firm, grainy tannins and refreshing acidity, finishing long and earthy.
— Lisa Perrotti-Brown | The Wine Palate
An intense, aromatic, silky and full-bodied wine with luscious dark fruit and floral and umami undertones. Mushrooms, redwood forest, crushed wild blackberries and cherry pie notes. Changes so much in the glass that it’s hard to pin down. Approachable now, but it has much to reveal with time. Drink or hold.
– James Suckling
The 2024 Syrah The Initiation is 100% from Soberanes. Dark, brooding and powerful, it saturates with mocha, incense, crushed rocks and olive, tempering the variety’s natural feral side in favor of polished, velvety fruit. The 2024 is very primary today, and perhaps not quite as deep as it usually is at this stage, but there is more complexity vis-à-vis The Reward tasted alongside.
— Bill Norris | Vinous
Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah
2024 The Reward
The 2024 Syrah The Reward is a bright purple color with a purple/fuchsia rim and reveals savory peppery tones, menthol, plum liqueur, and hearty depth while remaining light on its feet. Full-bodied, it has dark stones, ripe tannins, lushness, and primal intensity. Introspective and built to age forever. Drink 2026-2046.
— Jeb Dunnuck
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2024 The Reward Syrah needs a lot of swirling to tempt out notes of juicy plums, black cherries, and boysenberry preserves, plus hints of garrigue, lavender, and fragrant earth. The medium to full-bodied palate is densely packed with black fruit layers, structured by firm, grainy tannins and a lively line, finishing long and savory. Made from a Côte-Rôtie clone planted at Pisoni Vineyard, this wine is bottled only in magnums.
— Lisa Perrotti-Brown | The Wine Palate
otent blackberry and purple flower aromas are expertly rendered, cleanly expressed and very pure on the nose of this bottling. The palate strikes a balance between boysenberry jam, lavender, violet and peppercorn flavors that will continue to coalesce with patience. Drink now-2040.
—Tom R. Capo, Wine Enthusiast
Tasted from magnum, the 2024 Syrah The Reward is rich, layered and deeply fruited, but it’s also a good bit less complex than it is in most years. Black raspberry liqueur, exotic spices and sweet, chocolatey tannins envelop the palate nicely, braced by gentle acids and a whisper of the minerality this site (Pisoni) typically delivers. The good news is that the 2024 is very approachable today, not always the case for this bottling, but it feels like more of a near-to-medium-term proposition.
— Bill Norris | Vinous