The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is in its infancy today, but it’s absolutely seductive and sizzling, stacked floor to ceiling with intriguing layers that just need some time to coalesce. Cooling mint, black raspberry, juniper, leather and high-percentage dark chocolate open gradually, unfurling into a soft-textured, caressing, broad wine of sheer class. Oak is very much at the forefront for now, but the juicy freshness and old-school/new-school juxtaposition are really appealing. The 2021 is certainly not short on pure, clear fruit. Give this a couple of years to settle into itself.
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon offers up a textbook Cabernet bouquet of dark fruits, pipe tobacco, dried herbs and conifers. The palate is rich and velvety yet eminently classy, propped up by a sturdy backbone of refined tannins that carries the savory yet approachable finish. This is a beautiful iteration of one of California's greatest Cabernet value propositions.
The Cabernet legacy is a long one here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. A planting at La Questa in the late 1890s, utilising source material from Margaux, contributed to the creation of the Mt Eden Cabernet blocks in the 1940s. The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits a great lifted character on the nose, with notes of wild herbs and eucalyptus. A tannic vintage, woodland blue fruits, and wild alpine meadow. This wine is from the Domaine property and two Los Gatos vineyards, with great soaring mint and wild fruits. This is a delicious and approachable Cabernet.
Blending 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and small additions of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, the ongoing drought of the 2021 vintage challenged the Cabernet Sauvignon the most, and tannin management proved a challenge. As a result, some of the fermentation and pressing protocols were adjusted for the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, with barrel fermentation over 22 months in both French and American oak, the barrels anywhere from one to six years old. There’s a density to the wine and undeniable concentration, mountain-worthy tannins that are starting to soften, and a savory, wooded character to the currant and cassis, with additional notes of black olive. Drink now through 2031.
Cassis, bruised blackberry and mocha aromas before a palate of breadth, structure and energy. Grilled sage, cigar humidor, black and purple plums and brandied black cherries with saline minerality. Better in two years, and then over the next several.
Winery Notes
A true Bordeaux blend encompassing the top five Bordeaux grapes varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot with small additions of Petit Verdot and Malbec. Aged in 50/50 French and American oak, 10% of each was new, for 2 years. The lots are fermented separately using natural fermentations and French oak. Aging this wine to maturity for two years, no fining or filtration is conducted prior to bottling, just like the Estate regimen.
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