Our latest Tasting Highlights exhibits the diversity of red wines made on the United States' West Coast. Each wine scored 90 points or more on our 100-point scale, and they are easy on the wallet at $35 or less. With reds made from well-known grapes (including Pinot Noir and Zinfandel) and distinctive blends, there is an impressive range to choose from.
Cucamonga Valley lies east of Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It was a substantial winegrowing region from the mid-1800s until Prohibition started in 1920. Today, fewer than 1,000 acres of planted vineyards remain. Most enduring vines are ungrafted, own-rooted and more than 100 years old. Carol Shelton uses grapes from the area's Jose Lopez Vineyard, planted in 1918, for her Monga Zin bottling. The 2021 vintage offers deep red and dark fruit flavors with licorice and spice accents.
This lineup also includes Tablas Creek's Patelin de Tablas Paso Robles 2022, an elegantly structured red blend with satin texture, red fruit notes and cinnamon and red licorice accents. Read on to get our score and full tasting note for this wine and seven others.
Tasting Highlights' wine reviews are fresh out of the tasting room, offering a sneak peek of our editors' most recent ratings—including scores and full tasting notes—to WineSpectator.com members.
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