News & Scores
Scores & Reviews
2023 Nickel & Nickel Martin Stelling Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
97 Points
“Dark-fruited aromas of black currants, graphite, bitter chocolate, dried flowers and wet stones. The palate is focused and polished, with melting tannins and a rounded mouthfeel, balancing acidity, texture and elegance. From grapes grown right next to the famed To Kalon Vineyard. Precision and class shine brightly here. Excellent. Drink or hold.”
James Suckling•Mar 24, 2026
97 Points
“From the Martin Stelling Vineyard in Oakville, this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon was aged for 21 months in 60% new French oak. Planted in 1993 on the western bench behind Far Niente, the vineyard sits on an alluvial fan in the heart of To Kalon country, a setting that speaks clearly through the wine. Bright Asian spice lifts a core of black cherry and spiced plum fruit, with impressive density and generosity on the medium-bodied palate. Classic Oakville garrigue and graphite minerality add layered complexity, while the rich oak spices are precisely integrated. Full-flavoured and heady, this is a wine with good bones and a long runway ahead.”
Decanter•Jun 2, 2026
97 Points
“The Oakville release from this terrific producer, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Martin Stelling Vineyard sports a deep purple hue as well as notes of liquid violets, graphite, and chocolate, with just a hint of candied orange. It's powerful and concentrated on the palate, with full-bodied richness, a round, layered mouthfeel, ample tannins, and a great finish. It's another sensational wine from this team that will have 20-30 years of overall longevity. Drink 2025-2055.”
Jeb Dunnuck•Dec 1, 2025
95 Points
“Bright, ripe aromas of roasted cherry, blackberry jam, licorice, and peppercorn pop on the nose of this Cabernet Sauvignon. The palate feels fully saturated with flavors of macerated Bing cherry, plum jam, cocoa, and sage in a framework of decadent tannin and rounded acid before a soft finish with echoes of flowers and spice.”
Wine Enthusiast•Oct 28, 2026
95 Points
“This lets a lovely beam of red and black currant and blackberry fruit course through, flanked by alder and apple wood notes that are rather forthright. Charcoal and cool humus details drive underneath, along with tobacco and chestnut hints. All that, and there’s the juicy energy of the vintage buried deep within. Want a throwback Cab for the cellar? Here it is ... Best from 2030 through 2045.”
Wine Spectator•Aug 7, 2026