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Lastly, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville may be the finest wine I’ve tasted from this estate, although the 2016 might have something to say about that. Ripe blackcurrants, fresh blue fruits, huge minerality, full-bodied richness, a dense, concentrated mid-palate, and incredibly pure notes of chocolate, loamy earth, tobacco, and lead pencil all define this sensational Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. The tannin quality as well as the overall balance are just about off the charts. This warrants 4-5 years in the cellar and will have 2-3 decades of overall longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThe red fruit and tile aromas with terra-cotta come through clearly here. Then there’s sage and bark with cedar undertones. Leaves, too. Then turns to blue fruits. Full body with lovely tannins that are velvety and energetic from the underlying acid and earth character. Excellent finish. Drink after 2028.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville soars out of the glass. Inky dark cherry, gravel, licorice, graphite and chocolate saturate the palate. Vertical, dense and explosive, the 2021 is wonderfully deep and expressive. There’s plenty of Oakville Ranch tannin, but it is so well-balanced.Vinous Media | 98 VMJuicy and vibrant in feel, this bursts with exuberant notes of raspberry, mulberry and boysenberry pâte de fruit scored with roasted apple wood and licorice root accents. A lovely flurry of iris and hibiscus forms the backdrop, and there’s a late-running tug of loam to keep everything grounded through the finish. Hard to lay off now, but this shows the stuffing to cellar a bit. Drink now through 2040. 365 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

This seamless, driven, coiled red manages to marry lush notes of black currant, blackberry and fig reduction with burlier accents of walnut, tobacco and warm gravel. Shows an undeniable inner tension but needs considerable time to unfurl. Just when you think you’ve got this figured out, a bolt of cast iron emerges, adding a vibrato echo of terroir that stamps the superlong finish. This is a special wine. Drink now through 2050. 525 cases made.Wine Spectator | 99 WSOpaque purple-black in color, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon gives up notes of creme de cassis, candied violets, preserved plums, and blueberry pie followed by hints of menthol, fertile loam, tar, and underbrush. The medium to full-bodied palate is so, so tightly wound, with loads of earthy sparks and a fantastic frame of firm grainy tannins, plus amazing tension, finishing with an epic firework display of minerals and savory nuances. Vibrating with latent power and with so much texture interest, this is pure energy! 525 cases were made.The Wine Independent | 99 TWIOne of the greatest wines made in the vintage, as well as probably one of the most age-worthy, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon reveals a dense purple hue to go with quintessential Oakville notes of ripe black fruits, iron, black olive, walnuts, and darker chocolate, with an almost bloody, salty character that develops with time in the glass. It’s a massive, dense, yet majestic Cabernet Sauvignon that has flawless balance, building yet perfectly ripe tannins, and the concentration and overall class to warrant 5-7 years of bottle age and evolve for 40+ years in cold cellars. Hats off to the MacDonald brothers for another incredible, magical wine.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is dense and potent but also quite structured. Dark fruit, plum, graphite, incense, licorice and lavender are some of the many notes that grace the 2021. Silky, plush red cherry, mocha, rose petal and spice unfurl with time in the glass. This a decidedly mid-weight wine with firm, chalky tannins. Graeme MacDonald backed off extractions a bit in 2021, which suggests a drive towards greater freshness. This is also the first vintage made at the Mending Wall facility, which is quite a bit less cramped than at Kongsgaard, where all the previous wines were made. The 2021 saw 38 days on skins and 22 months in barrel. It is an absolutely gorgeous wine, but it is also more reticent than most vintages at this stage.Vinous Media | 96+ VM

Including more Cabernet Sauvignon than Cabernet Franc (it swings back and forth), the 2021 Avoyelles Oakville reveals a dense purple hue as well as sensational aromatics of red, blue, and blue fruits, spring flowers, spicy oak, graphite, dark chocolate, and a beautiful earth, forest floor-like character. Full-bodied, concentrated, and ultra-pure, it’s borderline perfection and a heavenly bottle of wine that needs 3-5 years of bottle age and will blow you away over the following two decades. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, aged 22 months all in new French oak.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThe 2021 Avoyelles is a bruiser, its mid-weight structure notwithstanding. Strong, savory and floral notes open first. There’s plenty of weight and intensity, but it appears gradually. All the elements are so well balanced in this young, potent Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc blend.Vinous Media | 97 VMI tasted a barrel sample of the 2021 Patria Avoyelles Red, with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. It has a deep garnet-purple color and offers up vibrant notes of crushed black cherries, warm cassis, and Indian spices, with hints of charcoal, beef dripping, and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is laden with taut, muscular black fruits and firm, grainy tannins with seamless freshness, finishing long with a spicy lift.The Wine Independent | 95-97 TWI

All Cabernet Sauvignon from specific hillside blocks on the estate, Shafer’s 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select spent 28 months in 100% new French oak. It’s a big, ripe wine, weighing in at 15.5% alcohol, but it remains harmonious from front to back. Deep, intense aromas of black cherries and cassis are accented by dried spices on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is rich and textural, showing tremendous intensity and length on the finish. Based on how previous examples have aged, this vintage should drink well through 2050.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPAged 32 months in 100% new French oak. It is quintessentially Stags Leap, with grapes grown on Shafer’s famous Hillside estate vineyard, roughly 25ha, with very shallow volcanic tufa soils. It’s a barrel selection of the very best blocks. A total of 2,900 cases were produced. Such a beautifully balanced wine with tremendous staying power and expressive Stags Leap ironstone minerality with heady sagebrush and conifer notes with white pepper and walnut husk. The wine has an impressive depth of red-toned fruit on the mid-palate framed by tannins that practically dance across the palate, exuding length, tension, and power. Huckleberry and black cherry fruits, black truffle, dried violets, graphite, and salted dark chocolate are all framed by racy acidity, which keeps everything fresh and lifted. The 2021 releases mark Elias Fernandez’s 38th vintage as Shafer’s winemaker. He was hired by John Shafer in 1984, two weeks out of UC Davis.Decanter | 99 DECThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a lot of shaking to bring out notes of crème de cassis, blackberry pie, and kirsch, leading to nuances of dried roses, star anise and cardamom with a hint of cigar box. The full-bodied palate is decadently concentrated with firm grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long with loads of exotic spices and mineral sparks.The Wine Independent | 98As always, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that will spend 28 months in new barrels. Its deep purple hue gives way to a behemoth of a wine that has incredible cassis, black raspberry, and even blue fruits to go with loads of camphor, minty herbs, graphite, and darker chocolate. It’s full-bodied, concentrated, yet pure, flawlessly balanced, and has a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Floral and vibrant, the 2021 sizzles with tension and a level of delineation I don’t remember seeing in the past. Like all the 2021s here, the Hillside Select possesses notable purity of fruit and exceptional balance. The tannins need to soften a touch, but time should take care of that. I don’t see the opulence or inner sweetness of most years, but that is not a negative at all.Vinous Media | 96-99 VMJuicy and direct, with a solidly built core of cassis and blackberry preserves lined with cocoa, singed tobacco and warm earth hints. Leans toward toasty on the finish, but there’s ample fruit. Best from 2025 through 2038. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 2,900 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2022 Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was one of Realm’s first harvests that year, coming in just before the early September heat hit. The blend is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it shoots from the glass with bold notes of fresh blackberries and blackcurrants, plus hints of crushed rocks, dried sage, and fragrant earth. The medium to full-bodied palate is electric with black fruit and mineral layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins and incredible tension, finishing long and earthy. This is on the crunchier side of Dr. Crane fruit, and I love it!The Wine Independent | 99 TWIThe 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is terrific. It shows the natural richness of the year, but its balance is better vis-à-vis the To Kalon, as evidenced by the lifted, bright aromatics and mid-palate pliancy. I admire the energy and vibrancy here. Rose petal, lavender, spice and blood orange are beautifully amplified. Bright acids pull it all together on the close. The Dr. Crane is one the finer wines in the range this year.Vinous Media | 95 VM

An amazingly complex, dynamic wine that demands your attention from the first sniff to the lingering finish. Aromas of redwood forest, rosemary, purple flowers and black cherries, then black tea, pomegranate, dark cherry, dried raspberry and wild mushroom flavors. Fine-grained moderate tannins and crunchy acidity give it such a firm backbone. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2023 Pinot Noir Royal St. Robert is redolent of floral, savory and citrus notes. I find it especially brilliant and crystalline. At the same time, the 2023 is pretty tightly wound. Rose petal, iron, tea leaves, incense and dried herbs open nicely with some coaxing, The colder growing season brings out the slightly gamier, wilder side of Pinot Noir along with plenty of brightening acidity in this mid-weight, taut Pinot from Raen. I would give this a year or two in bottle at a minimum.Vinous Media | 93 VM