2021 Bergman Estate Proprietary Red
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Tasting notes
The inaugural release, the 2021 Proprietary Red Wine checks in 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, and 6% each of Petit Verdot and Merlot, all aged 30 months in 95% new French oak. This deep ruby/plum-hued beauty offers a killer nose of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, new leather, graphite, and chocolate. A rich, full-bodied, concentrated 2021, it has a layered, elegant mouthfeel, perfectly integrated oak, plenty of tannins, and a great finish. It needs 3-5 years of bottle age (if not more) but is a stunningly complete, layered, impressive Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that readers will love. This is a tiny estate and there's not much wine produced, but buy it if you can find it.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Bottled after approximately 29 months in French oak barrels (95% new), Bergman's inaugural release—although not the first vintage made off this small Spring Mountain vineyard—is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc and 6% each Merlot and Petit Verdot. The 2021 Red Wine, made with the advice of consultant Nigel Kinsman, is fragrant and floral, combining hints of sage, bay and violet with strong underlying notes of black cherries. Cocoa and vanilla nuances from the oak are also present on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is dense and concentrated yet simultaneously silky and fine, with a lingering, elegant finish.
The 2021 Proprietary Red Wine is a dark, luxurious wine. Intense dark cherry, plum, chocolate, leather, spice and gravel all meld together. There's good textural depth but also some graininess in the tannins that is impossible to miss. Graeme MacDonald made the 2021, leaning on long macerations that have since been abandoned. There's a palpable sense of weight and gravitas from extended time on the skins and then long time in barrel that are not beneficial. I would give this a few years in bottle.