Winemaker Notes
Deep, dark, shiny eggplant with touches of black cherry and ruby. Explosion of cedar, cinnamon and cooking spices with black currant, thyme, rosemary, cigar box and graphite. Juicy entrance evolving on a dense mid-palate with granular tannins, but coated with a sweet fruit like plum, lingering on graphite and blackberry jam.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
This 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is also brilliant, with plenty of darker cassis and currant-driven fruit to go with a full-bodied, concentrated, powerful style on the palate. It has the vintage's fresh, focused, concentrated.
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James Suckling
Cedar and blackberry with blackcurrant and violet aromas. Medium- to full-bodied with hints of hazelnut and chocolate and some olive undertones. So fresh and vivid at the end. All about balance and drinkability.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2021 AXR Cabernet Sauvignon opens with powerful cassis aromas that signal its depth. On the palate, it’s a mouthful of sumptuous berries, broad and satisfying from start to finish. Pair this with Texas-style smoked beef ribs, a bold match for the wine’s intensity and richness. (Tasted: November 28, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
The history of the AXR estate is compounded in layers; rooted in historic tales of fierce Native American hunting grounds, wild west pioneers and the first woman vintner of California in 1886. It has changed hands over the course of 134 years to become a brewery, restaurant, inn, winery and saloon. Tales of love, lust, heartbreak, murders and great fortune create an imaginative backdrop to the present-day vision of AXR. Named after the AxR rootstalk (Aramond x Rupestris) that was so prominent in building the modern California wine industry, AXR Winery pays homage to the so-called "roots" of the industry. By utilizing modern and innovative techniques in the cellar, AXR extract the uniqueness of Napa Valley’s soils into wines enjoyable now, or many years from now. They start with hand-picked grapes, naturally fermented in small handcrafted lots, add in the expertise and palette of renowned consulting winemaker Jean Hoefliger, and you have a recipe for stunning wines that promote even better conversations, more laughs, and an invitation for others to join the group!
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.