Winemaker Notes
The 2021 Wappo Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon has a beautiful duality of fruit and floral notes on the nose. Aromas of cassis, black plum, flowering lavender, dried sage, tapenade, lead pencil, and balsamic are present. The size and power of this wine are formidable, yet it maintains an incredibly silky mouthfeel.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Blackcurrants and graphite with hints of red fruit, stone, bark and black olives. It’s full and generous with a cut-velvet texture and a long and flavorful finish, yet it’s always in check and focus. Some spices, terra cotta and iron at the end. Best after 2027.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Wappo Vineyard comes from a block just to the south of Realm, next to the Silverado Trail. It has a beautifully fresh, medium to full-bodied, elegant style to go with pure cassis and blue fruits, ultra-fine tannins, nicely integrated acidity and oak, and classy notes of darker chocolate, crushed stone, and violets. My money is on this classy Cabernet evolving nicely for 20+ years.
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Wine Spectator
A broad, fleshy, caressing style, offering a mocha note that melds nicely with elements of creamed plum and boysenberry, all backed by melted licorice and violet hints on the finish. A late echo of warm earth keeps this honest. Best from 2025 through 2038.
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.