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One of the legendary Dominus, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is unquestionably in the same league as the 2018, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2010, and 1991, and to my mind, wine simply doesn’t get any better. Sporting a dense purple hue as well as an incredible perfume of blackcurrants, crushed stone, cedar pencil, smoke tobacco, and baking spices, it s rich, full-bodied, and voluptuously textured, with ripe yet building tannins. It reminds me slightly of the 2010 (maybe the 2013), and I suspect it will have a similar evolution. Hide bottles for 7-8 years, and it will evolve gracefully for 30+ years. Hats off to the team of Christian Moueix and director Tod Mostero.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDSuperbly aromatic, polished, and balanced. Tannins are plump, pliant, and extremely long, with a beautiful velvety quality. Ripe blackberry, spiced plums, and black cherry fruits are super-expressive and imbued with this spicebush note, which is a shrub bush that grows near the vineyard and, when crushed in the palm of your hand in the thick of summer, reveals a high-toned minty-citrusy note, which is very present on the palate. The minerality is perfectly expressed as iron and stone, and the finish is exceedingly long, nuanced by mocha, loamy earth, and wildflowers, and resolves with tremendous freshness. Just splendid.Decanter Magazine | 100 DECThe 2021 Dominus, 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, is opaque purple-black in color. It needs a lot of coaxing to lure out scents of freshly crushed blackcurrants, blackberry preserves, stewed plums, and boysenberries giving way to subtle nuances of violets, licorice, and tar plus a touch of cedar in the background. The full-bodied palate is taut with densely laden, muscular black fruits framed by a firm grainy texture and well-played tension, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. A stunning vinous record of time and place, this is a 50-year+ Napa Cabernet to be experienced across generations. 3,700 cases were made.The Wine Independent | 100 TWIThe purity of the cabernet fruit is so enticing, with blackcurrant, rose petals, nettles and subtle graphite. Touches of terra cotta and licorice. Full-bodied with super integrated tannins that are wonderfully polished, giving a cashmere texture that is really luxurious to taste at this early stage. It is quenching and so delicious already. 95% cabernet sauvignon and 5% cabernet franc. Needs three to four years to come around but already a joy to taste. Try after 2027.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2021 Dominus is a 3,700-case blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, with 40% of the wine matured in new French oak. Black cherries and cassis lead the way, accented by scents of crushed stone and pencil shavings. It’s full-bodied, rich and concentrated, dark and intense, with ample tannins, but those tannins are ripe and well-rounded without being overly soft or creamy, gliding easily into a long, mocha-tinged finish. As a whole, the wine exhibits wonderful balance, even if it will benefit from 5 or 10 years in the cellar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThe 2021 Dominus is a powerful, tightly-coiled wine that is holding back quite a bit of reserve. There’s real depth and resonance waiting to emerge as the wine matures. Floral overtones and bright acids confer energy to a core of red/bluish fruits. Readers will find a Dominus built more on linear precision rather than opulence. It is hugely impressive in this tasting, with a long chalky finish.Vinous Media | 98 VMA restrained style, this offers a focused beam of red and black currant fruit lined with warm stone, tobacco and savory accents and allied to a long iron spine. Marries density and freshness through the finish. A wine of precision that feels as if it will expand with time in the cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2042. 3,700 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

This shows a lot of class, with aromas of blackcurrants, graphite, blueberries, dried flowers, black truffles and a touch of forest floor. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, with seamless tannins that goes on and on. Endless. Blackcurrants, dark mushrooms and violets with hints of fresh rose stems and light herbs. Velvety texture. A blend of 92% cabernet sauvignon, 6% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Better after 2027.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2021 Napanook is one heck of a Napanook, offering complex notes of currants, cassis, graphite, leafy tobacco, lead pencil, and chocolate. Incredible on the palate, it’s full-bodied and round, with supple, vibrant, incredible tannins. This is easily the finest vintage I’ve tasted of this cuvée and it’s the equivalent of many a Grand Vin from other producers.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThe 2021 Napanook, tasted from barrel, is fabulous. Rich, deep and super-expressive, the 2021 captures all the best the vintage has to offer. A whole range of floral and savory overtones lend nuance. This vibrant, intensely mineral Cabernet Sauvignon is an absolute delight to taste today, and an especially fine edition of Napanook, endowed with big fruit and equally potent tannins.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Jayson Woodbridge is dynamic, complex, and downright pleasure-packed and one of the stars of the show from his lineup of 2021 wines I tasted in September of 2024. It bursts out of the glass with pure ruby fruit, white truffle, white pepper, black cherry liqueur, and spiced plums layered with delicate cedarwood notes. Full-bodied with the purest of raspberry and blackberry fruit, the wine is framed by a foundation of ultrafine-grained tannins and profound depth on the mid-palate. Nuances of cigar box, saddle leather, and vanilla weave a lattice work around the fruit character, complemented by umami-rich saline minerals. Incredibly precise and pure, it’s further enhanced by blood orange acidity and a zesty, smoky quality, finishing with a hint of salted pink Himalayan sea salt. Just 4.8 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon vines are planted on this 18.21-hectare property, located on the steep southeast-facing slopes of Glass Mountain in St. Helena. It was purchased in 1999 and’s also home to Woodbridge’s underground Ring winery and caves.Decanter | 100 DEC

Stupendous aromas of blackberries and blackcurrants with hints of mint, cedar and pine. Notes of iodine, tobacco and mushrooms. Medium- to full-bodied with solid tannins that spread across the palate and melt into the wine. They frame the wine and give it form and tension, and then the center palate is energized with pure, airy, bright fruit. Available in 2026.James Suckling | 100 JSDeep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Promontory swans out with gregarious scents of juicy blueberries, fresh blackcurrants, and kirsch leading to suggestions of candied violets, forest floor, black olives, and cardamom with a waft of wet slate. The medium to full-bodied palate shimmers with electric black and red berry layers, framed by very firm yet beautifully ripe tannins and impactful tension, finishing long and minerally.The Wine Independent | 100 TWIAn absolute legend in the making, the 2021 Promontory is one of the most massive, concentrated, structured wines in the vintage. Coming from a hot, drought year, it has a dense purple/blue hue as well as primary notes of pure cassis, liquid rocks, black olives, resinous herbs, and iron. This carries to a full-bodied Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon that has a dense, layered mid-palate, ripe, building tannins, and flawless overall balance. It’s not going to hit full maturity for at least a decade, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this evolve for 40-50 years if well stored.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDJust bottled, the 2021 Promontory is captivating. Readers will find a striking, translucent mountain Cabernet Sauvignon endowed with notable tension and delineation. From the very beginning, Promontory has challenged the model of what Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is and what it can be. The 2021 is a total knockout. It’s exceptionally polished and drop-dead gorgeous.Vinous Media | 98+ VM

Just 4.8 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon are planted on this 18.21-hectare estate, situated on the steep, southeast-facing slopes of Glass Mountain in St. Helena. Purchased in 1999, the property is also home to Jayson Woodbridge’s striking underground Ring winery and caves. I awarded the 2021 vintage a perfect 100 points, and this 2022 Ark continues that legacy—it’s the most polished of Woodbridge’s single-vineyard Hundred Acre wines from the vintage. If Morgan’s Way is supreme elegance and Few and Far Between is deep, brooding, and muscular, then Ark sits perfectly in between—balanced and impressively saturated. The palate bursts with red-berry fruit, beautifully scented with brown baking spices, black tea, walnut, and a striking ironstone minerality. “This is superpower wine,” Woodbridge asserts as we taste. “This is a Corporate Hostile Takeover—you go in with this wine. If you’re working on the biggest buyout in history, you drink this just before you short the S&P 500… and then you go skiing in Switzerland. You drink this before and after.” (Drink between 2025 - 2040)Decanter Magazine | 100 DECBlack currant, hints of mint, lead pencil and black cherry aromas follow through to a full body with very fine tannins and an endless finish. The texture leaves me breathless and speechless. Incredible length and depth. Hard not to drink now.James Suckling | 100 JSRipe black cherries, cassis, black olive, salted meats, and smoky tobacco all shine in the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Ark, which is aged 32 months in 100% new French oak. It’s full-bodied, has a pure, layered, graceful mouthfeel, shows classic Hundred Acre polished tannins, and delivers a great finish. It’s up with the crème de la crème of the vintage, and while it’s beautiful today, it will shine for at least two decades. It’s another gorgeous effort from Woodbridge that’s as good as anything in the vintage. Drink 2025-2045.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JD

The 2023 Dominus is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot. Opaque purple-black in color, it slowly unfurls to reveal a powerful core of blackcurrant jelly, ripe black plums, and fresh blueberries, followed by hints of menthol, crushed rocks, dried sage, black truffles, and black olives. The full-bodied palate is both generous and energetic, displaying an impressive array of savory and earthy nuances among the dense black fruit layers and a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and beautiful tension, finishing with epic length.The Wine Palate | 100 TWPThe aromatics are a little more contained than the Napanook, knitted down with savoury incense and charred sandalwood, and a texture that even visually is rich and supple. Through the palate, things move slowly and deliberately, tobacco, musk, ocean spray, iris, with layers of sweet red liquorice, olive tapenade, latte, crushed rocks, broth, cranberry, just a beautifully crafted wine that is so enticing you could drink it now, but that promises to reward long ageing. 40% new oak, Tod Mostero winemaker, Christian Moueix owner. A late harvest from October 7-18.Jane Anson | 100 JABased on 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot and aged 20 months in 40% new French oak, the 2023 Dominus is absolutely gorgeous, with an incredible level of purity and refinement. Cassis, graphite, crushed stone, melted crayons, and floral nuances all define the aromatics. It’s medium to full-bodied, with seamless, refined elegance, ultra-fine tannins, beautiful mid-palate depth, and outstanding length. This more charming, forward, and seductive style of Dominus will offer incredible appeal over the next 20-25 years or more. Drink 2025-2050.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2023 Dominus is a very pretty, surprisingly open-knit wine from this estate. Soft contours wrap around a core of pliant red/purplish fruit. Lavender, rose petal and gently spiced overtones caress the mid-palate and finish. I expect the 2023 will drink well with minimal cellaring, something that is rarely the case here.Vinous Media | 96 VM

Aromas of blueberries, ash and stones with hints of blackberries, orange peel and chocolate. It’s medium-bodied with medium-round tannins that are polished and velvety but always in check. Cedar and baking spices like nutmeg on the palate. Lovely soft and silky texture with a long finish. Enchanting and delicious. 92% cabernet sauvginon, 4% cabernet franc and 4% petit verdot. From organically grown grapes. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2023 Napanook is deep, bold and luscious right out of the gate. Black cherry, lavender, dried herbs and graphite fill out its mid-weight frame quite nicely. I expect the 2023 will drink well with minimal cellaring, as it is already quite open and doesn’t quite have the tannic palate presence of more important years.Vinous Media | 93 VMDeep purple-hued and the second wine of this reference point domaine, the 2023 Napanook offers classic currants, leafy tobacco, graphite, and underbrush notes in a medium-bodied, very pretty, pure, elegant, and graceful style. Based on 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot and aged 20 months in 20% new French oak, it has ripe and polished tannins, perfectly integrated acidity, and a great finish. This classic, classy Cabernet will keep for 10-15 years. Drink 2025-2040.Jeb Dunnuck | 92 JD