Winemaker Notes
This wine is a classic expression of a moderate to warm vintage, producing smaller berries and lighter crop than average. Dark in color, it opens up in the glass with expressive aromas of graphite with pronounced cherry and blackberry. On the palate, the wine is powerful with a good, firm tannin structure, blending in hints of natural sweetness, ripe fruit and great acidity.
Blend: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Leading off the 2021s, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc aged 20 months in 80% new barrels. This beauty boasts a deep, full-bodied, structured style that's very much in the vintage profile, and it has textbook cassis, darker currant, graphite, and leafy tobacco-driven aromatics. I love its mid-palate density, and it has sweet tannins and a layered, supple, seamless mouthfeel that keeps you coming back to the glass. It's stunning today, yet smart money will hide these for 4-5 years, and it's going to have at least two decades of longevity.
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James Suckling
Dark-fruit aromas of blackberry compote, roasted coffee beans, bitter chocolate, blood plums and baking spices. The densely packed palate has a full-bodied mouthfeel and firmly framed tannins with an inklike finish. Powerful yet smooth and precise. Drink or hold.
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.