We Asked 18 Sommeliers: What’s the Most Overrated Red Wine? (2025)

Red wines often hold more prestige — and loftier price tags — than their white counterparts. But with all the hype surrounding certain high-end brands and regions, there’s bound to be one or two bottles that don’t live up to their billing.

To save you from unnecessarily splurging, we asked wine pros from across the country to share which red wines they think are vastly overrated and might not be worth taking the plunge. Unsurprisingly, wines with the most acclaim took the biggest blows, like baller bottles from Burgundy and Napa. (Is any wine truly worth thousands of dollars?) But there are also some surprising hot takes from somms, with commentary on unexpected grapes, winemaking techniques, and regions.

Though every wine drinker has their own preferences, it can’t hurt to read this list before splashing out on a certain cult Cab or boarding the hipster hype train. Here are the most overrated red wines, according to 18 sommeliers.

The most overrated red wines, according to wine pros:

Super Tuscans
Red Burgundy
Carbonic Carignan
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Chilled reds
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon
Jura reds
Cheap, oaked reds
Old Barolo
Napa Cabs
Underripe reds
Cru Bordeaux
Island reds
Expensive American Cabs
Pinot Noir

“I think the most overrated red wine category is Super Tuscan. Tuscany has some beautiful wines to offer and in my opinion these are usually not them. The use of international varietals isn’t needed in this region that already has some of the most noble wine regions — Chianti and Montalcino, I’m looking at you. While I do appreciate that the movement started as a rebellion against wine laws, it’s a style that often tends to be oaked and very bold — not a go-to style for me. Long live Sangiovese and monovarietal Canaiolo!” —Jacqueline Pirolo, owner and beverage director, Macchialina, Bar Bucce, and Fluke, Miami

“All right, I’ll put on my red hat and fall on the sword, here: Red Burgundy has become an unfortunate case study for how disconnected one can get from the cost of a wine versus what’s actually in the bottle. Look, I love the rolling hills and hyperspecificity of climats as much as the next guy — I’ll even enjoy a cheeky lieu-dit bottling on occasion. But the Cistercian monks are long gone. I don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars for an entry-level wine made by a guy who drives a Bugatti — and I’ll never be able to afford anything loftier than that. You’d sooner find me with a Michelangelo in my one-bedroom apartment than a bottle of DRC bought with my own money. That is to say, you won’t.” —Taylor Weston, sommelier, bōm, NYC

”Not necessarily ‘overrated’ per se, but definitely overplayed: another Southern France carbonic maceration red blend. Golly, save us from another Languedoc ‘carbo’ Carignan, Cinsault, or (insert literally any other grape). But then again, am I a contrarian if you catch me drinking exactly that before last call inside some hipster wine dive bar on a Wednesday night?” —Alessandro Ghirotto, co-founder and sommelier, Stem Bar, Montreal

“The first thing that came to mind was Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Don’t get me wrong, Caymus is a solid wine. If I was at a dinner party and someone pulled it out I would happily enjoy a glass. But at $90-$100 it doesn’t quite deliver. It’s much sweeter than a typical Napa Valley Cabernet. And with 200,000 bottles made annually it’s hardly a rarity. A stalwart on the top shelf of everyone’s liquor store, it is hard to not notice. That’s why they keep it eye level. That alone should make prospective buyers skeptical. It’s like they know it’s chocolate milk for adults who use the Vivino app to tell them what to buy.” —James Ruggiero, beverage manager, Legami, Charleston, S.C.

“The overrated red wine that bothers me is chilled red wine for its own sake, or rather, red wine that’s chilled when it shouldn’t be. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good chilled red — aromatic, bright, mineral, low-tannin reds that show wonderfully when served at a temperature closer to that of a white or rosé wine. But sometimes you see more structured or dense wines offered chilled, wines that will seem closed-off or even unpleasant at a lower temperature, and it feels like the venue is just offering it because it’s a category that’s expected right now, or because they have inventory they want to move through and know that it’s a style that sells. As programmers, we need to show the same care that the winemaker did in making the wine, and reward our guests’ sense of adventurousness with a glass showing at its best.” —Rafa García Febles, general manager, Kabawa and Bar Kabawa, NYC

“Easy: Screaming Eagle, at roughly $2,500 per bottle. In 1992, this Napa Cab was made by Heidi Barrett and sold for $75. It was a phenomenal wine and very fairly priced. Now it lives primarily off of its reputation and it’s not taken seriously by real wine enthusiasts. It’s the kind of wine bought to show off how deep your pockets are!” —Mark Censits, managing partner, Maxwell Alley, Jersey City, N.J.

“I hate to say it, but Jura reds are a little overrated these days. Don’t get me wrong — I’ll always love a lively Poulsard or Trousseau at the right moment. But call me old-fashioned: Jura has always been a white wine region at heart. Between climate pressure and market hype, even the most reliable producers are struggling with consistency, and prices have gone through the roof. If you’re chasing that delicate, soulful energy, I would steer you to the Savoie, Bugey, or even Rheinhessen — just as electric, but a little less precious and fragile.” —Basile Al Mileik, partner and wine director, Fedora and St. Jardim, NYC

“To start, nothing is overrated if you enjoy it. Your taste is individual and it is our job as sommeliers to guide you to wines that best fit your setting, price point, and mood, whether or not you have tried the wine before. One of the first things I tell people looking for a bottle under $75 on a list, however, is to be careful with grape varieties that are typically put in a heavy amount of oak. Oak barrels are expensive, so, if it is a very approachable price point likely they are taking shortcuts to produce it. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot —if you like oak, and do want value, there are specific places to find it. Consult your sommelier or wine shop steward.” —Tia Polite, head sommelier, Indienne, Chicago

“Old Barolo wines are highly coveted, but I feel that they are often pricey and often underwhelming. Sure, there’s intrigue in drinking an aged wine and seeing how it has developed, but a mouthful of intense, dusty tannins and dried flowers is rarely the splurge experience that I am seeking.” —Sammi Schachter, beverage director, Nudibranch, NYC

“I’m going to put it out there, and most of the world would probably agree: Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon is 100 percent completely overrated. It’s a mass-produced Hi-C Fruit Punch doctored to perfection for all your favorite boomer friends. We’re seeing a lot of trends with younger people interested in drinking lower-alcohol wines, and honestly prefer their reds with a little chill, or are likely leaning towards more white and orange wines. Maybe our shop is geared for a younger clientele, but Cab Sauv is our least asked-for style. Thinking about eating steak for dinner? Amazing! Pick up a bottle of Stein Palmberg Spätlese Trocken instead; not only will you not wake up the next morning with a splitting migraine, but fun fact: It’s a much better spend of your money.” —Robert Wilson, owner, Vesper Books and Wine, Detroit

“Napa Cabs are often bold, fruit-forward, and heavily oaked — which can feel one-dimensional or over-manipulated compared to more nuanced, terroir-driven wines. For what they cost, I think you can find more interesting bottles from Bordeaux, South America, or even other parts of California. There’s a lot of marketing hype, but not always the complexity to back it up.” —Suzana Sajjad, sommelier, Gui Steakhouse, NYC

“While it’s hard to label any wine as truly overrated, one trend in red wine that may be losing its footing is the continued pursuit of early harvested, often underripe California reds. I’m referring specifically to wines picked for the sake of hitting low alcohol levels, sometimes from warm-climate sites, while aiming to mimic cooler-climate Old World styles. The New California movement helped popularize this approach, and there’s no doubt it produced some beautiful, restrained wines. But if your site doesn’t naturally support fully physiologically ripe fruit at 12.5 percent alcohol, then maybe stray away from this style.” —Sam Bogue, beverage director, Flour + Water Hospitality Group, San Francisco

“I would say the most overrated red wines for me are from the Crus of Bordeaux. It is a style I personally don’t prefer, but I also find it hard to reconcile paying the money these wines command just because they cost the most money in the 1800s. On top of that, most of them aren’t ready to drink for a decade or more. Lifetime appointments are never the answer.” —Spenser Payne, owner, Neighborhood Wines, Boston

“I would say the most overrated style of red wine would be island red wines. White wines from island regions can be so savory, salty, citrusy, and have really interesting unique inflections of flavors like iodine, smoke, camphor, along with savory green herbs. The white wines are compelling, complex, and oftentimes ageworthy. In contrast, island red wines always kinda seem clunky and disjointed to me. They are almost always more of an exercise in futility, based on a sommelier swearing that it just needs a few more vigorous shakes in a decanter for all the sulfurous smells to finally blow off. I find the wines across the board to be more of a commentary on what’s ‘interesting’ rather than an exploration in deliciousness. Except for Domaine Economou and their Liatiko from Crete. They get a pass in my book.” —Luke Boland, wine director, Point Seven, NYC

“Overrated is a big word. There are many wines included in this category, and of course, we need to consider first the cost behind each label before criticizing. But if we analyze history and traditions, why should we pay for big American Cabs at the same price range as classic Bordeaux? Is Opus One comparable with the legendary Château Margaux?” —Luigi Coco, head sommelier, Paranza, Atlantis, Bahamas

“Pinot Noir, just generally; I think the varietal has the potential to be exceptional when it has the exact right conditions, it’s just not happy in most places and it’s made everywhere. If it’s not grown on a slope on limestone in a cool climate I probably don’t want to drink it, sorry Sonoma!” —Erica Lauer, service director and assistant wine director, Fedora, NYC

“The first wine that comes to mind as being overrated is Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m always surprised by how often guests request it by name or mention it when I ask what kind of wine they enjoy. To me, it’s a highly manufactured and overly manipulated wine with little to no character. It’s also quite expensive for what it is, and I can easily offer guests wines at half the price that deliver more complexity, balance, and genuine expression. Its popularity seems driven more by branding and availability than by quality.” —Jeff Clevelend, general manager and sommelier, Birch, Milwaukee, Wis.

“We’re talking broad strokes here, and there are always exceptions to the rule, but Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, with its often high price tag, cultish following, and big scores is an easy and seductive reach for most guests. It’s familiar — much like Sancerre in the category of white wine — for consumers feeling unsure or overwhelmed by the selections presented to them. Why stay on the easy path drinking a wine that offers little complexity and conformity when you can venture out and find new territory, exploring hidden gems just by engaging with your sommelier or retailer, and explore the terroir of Bandol, Campania, or Priorat for a full-bodied red with depth and character?” —Nikki Ledbetter, wine director, 53, NYC

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