2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Oakville
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
A barrel selection drawn from the rockier, eastern side of the estate, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve sees 22 months in close to 100% new French oak but occasionally a used barrel comes into the blend. It's brighter and fresher than the regular Estate bottling, with notes of fresh raspberries and cherries joined by cedar and vanilla. Full-bodied in the mouth, it's taut and zesty, its ripe tannins accentuated by bright acidity. Yet to be released, give it a few years to round into form.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
From rockier soils on the eastern side of the valley, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot that was aged 22 months in new French oak. It's an absolutely killer bottle of wine offering pure cassis and darker currant fruits as well as textbook tobacco, Oakville iron, black olive, dark chocolate, and graphite. It's full-bodied, massively concentrated, has building tannins, flawless balance, and a great, great finish. It will probably merit an additional point or two in 5-7 years and, I suspect, will be a 30+-year wine.
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a fabulous wine that captures all the magic of the rockier soils on the eastern side of the property. It offers a fabulous combination of red-toned fruit, blood orange, spice, menthol, licorice and a discreet touch of oak. I especially admire its vibrant, vertical feel. All the elements are so well balanced in this deep, layered Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2021 is showing exceptionally well, considering its recent bottling. This is a properly hedonistic wine.