Winemaker Notes
Silky and gracious, the Baker & Hamilton Cabernet Sauvignon is a wonderfully understated, classy Cabernet. Cedar, tobacco and sweet floral notes add gorgeous inner perfume.
The fourth year of a prolonged drought in California, 2021’s deficient soil moisture resulted in smaller canopies, brought forward in wonderfully temperate growing conditions that were ideal for the ripening of a relatively small winegrape crop at Vine Hill Ranch. August and September delivered mild temperatures that allowed for extended maturation in the vineyard, resulting in a vintage of remarkable complexity, character, and nuance.
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A balance and beauty of red fruits with black berries, black currants and black cherries with some flowers. It’s medium-bodied with firm and refined tannins that give this wine presence yet it’s so refined and harmonious making you want to drink it now. It will age beautifully but no reason really to age it.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon also comes from more blocks in the estate vineyard compared to 2020 (due to a strict selection,) and it can be thought of as a second wine for the estate. All Cabernet Sauvignon, it sports a deep purple hue to go with a vibrant nose of cassis and ripe blue fruits as well as spring flowers, violets, and chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, nicely balanced, and elegant on the palate, it's beautifully layered and has a great finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Baker & Hamilton's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon features a charming mix of red and black cherries, no real herbal notes and some cedar and vanilla nuances. Made entirely from Vine Hill Ranch fruit (It's under the same ownership), it's medium to full-bodied, open-knit, velvety and ready to drink now and for the next decade. The benchland blocks for this label are selected for their approachability, versus the upland areas that go into the more concentrated and structured flagship VHR bottling.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.