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This is a single-vineyard expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Phoenix Vineyard surrounding the Matthiasson winery, situated on an east-facing steep hillside at the base of Mt. Veeder, on a promontory of rare ancient marine shale soils overlooking the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley. Texturally and aromatically, it is so different from the Dead Fred Cabernet. This is super light and floral-driven and more like a Nebbiolo. It’s aged in foudre to preserve the fresh fruit quality. Multiple picks ensure ripeness and some are whole cluster pressed. It’s so pretty and pure it’s almost like mineral water that’s been flavoured. The wine has a natural grip and is laser-focused and linear. It is the epitome of elegance and a classy wine in a class of its own. During my tasting with Steve, he added some colour to the Phoenix Vineyard, explaining that it was planted in 1982, with more vines added in the late 1980s. The Cabernet Sauvignon is an old field selection massale from Mt. Veeder, with the oldest vines on AXR rootstock (sadly susceptible to Phylloxera) and next to those grapes, the same selection is grafted to 5BB, a slightly more drought-tolerant rootstock, which handles the hillside. Matthiasson bought the site in 2017, and the farms it organically and without irrigation. A delicious wine that will last for half a century.Decanter Magazine | 99 DECA technically light-bodied wine with delicious ripe fruit, great acid balance and moderate tannins to preserve it for many years while more complexity develops. Red cherries, blackcurrants, bay leaves and baked earth nuances build on the palate and linger on the finish. Best from 2028.James Suckling | 96 JS

Leading off the 2021s I was able to taste from Maybach, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Amoenus is flat-out brilliant and has a layered, perfumed, almost exotic style in its black and blue fruits as well as spicy, floral, incense, orange blossom, and gravelly earth-like aromas and flavors. It shows the concentrated yet vibrant, focused style of the vintage, has full-bodied richness, beautiful tannins, and a gorgeous finish. This powerful, structured, incredibly impressive Cabernet Sauvignon deserves 4-5 years in the cellar and will evolve for two decades at a minimum.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDFrom a cool pocket in otherwise warm Calistoga, Maybach’s 2021 Amoenus Cabernet Sauvignon features aristocratic notes of crushed stone, cassis, black cherries and cedary overtones. A marked contrast to the sumptuous, seductive 2019, the 2021 is also full-bodied and concentrated but with a firm structure and plentiful tannins. It’s even rather stern at this stage of its development but should be fine with some time in the cellar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPAmoenus Vineyard is a rugged 19ha site of volcanic soils planted in Calistoga and owned by Turnbull. Thomas Rivers Brown has done well by the grapes from this site. This is one of his brightest wines of the 2021 vintage, with pronounced acidity that raises the bar on Napa Valley Cabernet freshness. Its decisively red-fruited nose is quite floral-driven, which carries through on the wine’s medium-bodied palate. A floor of racy acidity provides lift to the red currant and raspberry fruit, with nuances of white cherry and cherry pit. Angular, grippy tannins need some time to mellow. One to enjoy with a burger or pan-seared salmon. Certainly a wine to cellar and pull out now and again over a decade.Decanter | 94 DEC

The 2021 Zinfandel Old Vines shows plenty of Lodi exuberance. Succulent red/purplish fruit, leather and sweet spice are front and center, with bright acids that perk things up on the mid-palate and finish. The 2021 is delicious and also a terrific value.Antonio Galloni | 92 AG

The 2021 Pinot Noir Estate Bottled unfolds with a blockbuster bouquet of macerated red cherry, lavender, new leather and clove. Aged in 40% new French oak for ten to eleven months, it’s broad and ample on the palate. Layers of fresh berry fruit, supple tannins and gentle citrus succulence introduce a wine of extreme class and pedigree. The tannins are just so refined, and the delineation of flavors is superb. Vivid, lively, meticulous and calibrated, this is a testament to the heights attainable with Pinot Noir in the Santa Cruz Mountains.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe 2021 Pinot Noir has bright, fresh, lifted red fruit and citrus with a wealth of balanced acidity. Aged sur lees for 11 months, it is bottled unfiltered, barrel to barrel rack in March so it can rack from barrel to tank for bottling without picking up lees. The grapes are grown on five separate vineyards and blended together, exuding mountain terroir of earthy pine, tea, and raspberry, layered in waves of juicy texture. Enjoy best 2028-2036.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe 2021 Pinot Noir Estate is a pretty and ethereal rendition of the Mount Eden style, offering inviting, red-fruited and forest floor aromas framed with judicious use of new oak. The palate is lively, buoyant and medium-bodied, leading to an energetic finish supported by cleansing acidity and youthful, fine tannins. Still quite tight and inward throughout, this should start unfolding in 3-4 years and continue to reward for over a decade.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPConcentrated with savoury elegance and a depth of rose petal florality. There’s a tingly acidity that enlivens this wine, accompanied by notes of white pepper, cardamom, and an array of exotic spices. Taut, racy and with savoury edges of mint and wild herbs.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECBay laurel, sage and an almost coniferous note on the nose. The structured palate shows tea tannins, mixed cherries and birch. Impressive balance and length. Great bones. Needs time, but will justify patience.James Suckling | 93 JS

Another release from St. Helena, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard comes from a rockier site not far from Dr. Crane (and Spottswoode), on the west side of the valley. Its saturated purple hue is followed by a slightly more floral/violet-tinged profile including black and blue fruits, notes of spring flowers, graphite, and earthy minerality, full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, and a gorgeous texture that keeps you coming back to the glass. It too will evolve for three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDAbsolutely seductive, with incredible polish, precision, and opulence. Lead with youthful blue and black fruit aromatics. Full and plush on the palate with chocolaty tannins that are finely grained, imprinted with a palate-saturating richness of sweet, ripe, black cherry, blackberry and plum fruits, nuanced by tobacco, and a distinct earthy and chalky minerality that penetrates the senses from the nose to the finish.Decanter Magazine | 98 DECPlenty of pretty fruit, with blackberries, blackcurrants and hints of flint. Full-bodied with lots of fruit, but the polished tannins hem this in so beautifully. Graphite shines through. Polished tannins for La Piedras. Needs four to six years of bottle age. Drink after 2030.James Suckling | 98 JSThere’s a bit more oak influence evident in the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard than in Hobbs’s other Cabernets, but it works, those vanillin and almost buttery characters adding complexity and depth to the ripe black cherries and earth aromas. Full-bodied and plush, almost accessible despite the masses of soft tannins, the wine finishes long and velvety. Sexy stuff.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPNotes of gorgeously ripe boysenberry, mulberry and blackberry puree stream through this serious Cab. Flanked by applewood and underscored with a well-buried cast iron spine, this wine is saturated but not bombastic, with a grip-filled yet fruit-redolent finish. Best from 2026 through 2040. 320 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard is the most vibrant of three Beckstoffer wines in this range. Graphite, savory herbs, menthol, licorice, espresso and licorice abound in this potent, massively structured Cabernet. This is classic Las Piedras done in a modern, lush style.Vinous Media | 94 VM

Paul Hobbs’ 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from their Nathan Coombs Estate was hand-sorted while still cold from night-harvesting, fermented in small, closed-top, stainless steel tanks with native yeasts, cold soaked for five days and macerated for 30 days with gentle pump-overs and délestage, aged 20 months in 96% new French oak barrels, including Darnajou, Taransaud, Boutes, Leroi, Baron, La Grange, Marchive, and Vicard coopers and bottled unfined and unfiltered. This is an immaculate wine. It is positively brimming with incredible upfront drinking appeal, but this is a wine you could lay down for a generation. It’s a masterful creation, imbued with tension, density, ironstone, and black rock minerality so prominent that you taste pulverised igneous and metamorphic rocks in powder form. The mineral component is just remarkable. Medium-bodied with beautifully pure black cherry and blackberry fruits, black olive, and liquorice, underscored by such precision-focused tannins that the textural feel is so delicate, pixelated, and silky, the wine glides over the palate with ease. An undercurrent of expressive acidity keeps everything light and refreshing, and nuances of tobacco, brown baking spices, salty dark chocolate, and cedarwood layer in a tapestry of flavours that will meld together over the years to form a wine so pleasing it might simply be overwhelming.Decanter Magazine | 100 DECA great example of a 2021 from a district of southern Napa that often produces the coolest, most supple cabernets. So dense yet silky and elegant. Graphite, iron, seashell and espresso aromas meet super-concentrated flavors of blackcurrant, blackberry and cocoa, all wrapped in extra-fine tannins that structure it for long aging without being at all harsh to sip now. Fresh and balanced. Drinkable now, but best from 2030.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Nathan Coombs Estate is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the estate’s best blocks, planted around 2002. Scents of blueberries, cassis, vanilla, loam, cedar and some faint floral elements appear on the soaring, complex nose, while the full-bodied palate is concentrated, almost creamy-rich across the mid-palate, then long and supple on the finish. Impressive for its concentration and energy.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Nathan Coombs Estate, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, is a heady, exotic wine. All the signatures of this site are amplified to the core. Blackberry jam, crème de cassis, lavender, licorice, cloves and chocolate all saturate the palate. Dense and potent, with tremendous mid-palate richness, the 2021 is a wine of sweeping grandeur and sheer intensity. Fabulous.Vinous Media | 97 VMRipe black fruits, iron, smoked tobacco, graphite, and a beautiful sense of minerality all emerge from the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Nathan Coombs Estate, another insanely good wine from this winemaker. With full-bodied richness and a deep, seamlessly textured mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a thrilling finish, this has some accessibility today yet deserves a solid 5-7 years of bottle age. I suspect it will see its 50th birthday in fine form.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDRipe and lush, showing an expansive core of cassis, plum reduction and blackberry compote flavors infused with sweet bay, violet and dried anise notes. Sleek toast works in harmony, allowing the fruit to play out over a cast iron note on the finish. Extremely solid. Best from 2026 through 2038. 510 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

In the low-yielding 2021 vintage, Peju turned out a wonderfully vibrant, compact, and energetic Cabernet, which includes 5% Petit Verdot and was aged 18 months in 40% French and American oak. A solid wine, well-knit, with a firm baseline of taut, fine-grained tannins and loads of dark black and huckleberry fruits. All the elements are in harmony and it continues to be one of the best value Napa Cabernets on the market.Decanter | 93 DECAromas of ripe black and blue fruit with spicy undertones, hints of blue flowers and cocoa. Full-bodied, fruit-forward, creamy and layered with silky tannins on the sleek, even palate. Smooth and lingering. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 91 JSIn contrast to the tannic Cabernet Franc, Peju’s 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is more supple and approachable. Floral, mint, cassis and black cherry notes appear on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate even includes hints of mocha and dark chocolate. Soft, dusty tannins mark the finish, joined by hints of toasted coconut.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP

An absolutely riveting Cabernet showing a deep ruby-purple colour. Gorgeously fragrant at the cork’s pull with terrific violets and loads of black currants and dark dried herbs. Medium to full-bodied with chiselled, precise tannins that build and build on the palate. At this early stage, the wine is full of ripe blackberry and black currant fruits that harbour impressive clarity of flavours, growing even more expressive with beautiful sagebrush nuances. Philipp Togni remarked that this vintage reminds him of St. Julien. Indeed, it is incredibly aromatic, elegant, and structured, and it is also a complete and seamless wine. 82% Cabernet Sauvignon is joined by 15% Merlot, 2% Cabernet France, and 1% Petit Verdot. Drink:2024-2060.Decanter | 100 DECThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is an outrageously beautiful wine and also one of the wines of the year. A soaring, exotic bouquet makes a strong opening statement. Pliant and creamy, with mind-blowing textural finesse, the 2021 dazzles from start to finish. Hard candy, mint, lavender, Kirsch and spice linger on the close. The 2021 possesses mind-blowing purity and exceptional finesse.Vinous Media | 99 VM

Lastly, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley has a slightly darker, more concentrated profile, giving up plenty of blackcurrants, scorched earth, and tobacco notes, with nicely integrated oak. Medium to full-bodied and concentrated, with ripe, velvety tannins, this voluptuous yet still focused and nicely structured Cabernet will keep for a solid 10-12 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDRichly flavored and generous, this wine has a firm structure. Flavors of vanilla cream, blackberry, cassis, cedar and cracked pepper are carried by firm, fine-grained tannins and a long finish. The wine could benefit from decanting so hold until 2027. Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEDeep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Ride leaps with vivacious notes of crushed blackberries, juicy black plums, and Morello cherries, followed by hints of camphor and cast-iron pan. The full-bodied palate is refreshing and taut, with bags of crunchy black fruits and a long finish.The Wine Independent | 91 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

This beautiful wine comes from this Rutherford site that was first planted in 1895 by Mrs. Thomas Rutherford. This 300-acre parcel first purchased by Beaulieu founder Georges de Latour in 1928 and called Beaulieu Vineyard Number 3. Inky in the glass, this offers an opulent texture once on the mouth. Layers of creme de cassis, anise, graphite, creme de violette, tar and allspice dusted black cherry all brilliantly combine on the palate, with loamy soil accents. A joy to drink now in its full-throttle youth, enjoy this brilliant new wine now and over the next twenty plus years to come. Drink 2024-2044Owen Bargreen | 96 OBSojourn gets Clone 337 from F Block in this historic vineyard, formerly known as Beaulieu Vineyard No. 3. The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III aged in 75% new French oak before being bottled in June 2023. It’s true to its Rutherford roots, showing dusty earth notes on the nose alongside bright cherries and deeper mocha and dried-spice undertones. It’s full-bodied but somehow seems less rich than its 14.7% alcohol implies, cruising across the mid-palate in a flurry of soft tannins and finishing long and firm, with hints of dark chocolate.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPRipe and juicy berries and plums are mixed through with nutmeg, cinnamon and cocoa for a lush, abundant palate of flavor. This richly present 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, from one of Napa’s iconic vineyards, combines layers of oak spice with a velvety texture and a mouthfilling finish.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

Like a majority of the Sojourn 2021 Pinot Noirs, the Gap’s Crown is also aged in 50% new French oak but sees approximately 15% whole cluster during fermentation. This Pinot Noir is always one of my favorites coming out of the Sonoma Coast, and the Sojourn 2021 is another beautiful example. A shimmering ruby-garnet core with a blueish rim in the glass, it assembles bountiful notes of dark cherry compote, fresh black raspberry, spiced blue plum skin, brown mushroom, salty sea breeze, liquid chocolate, and hints of dried lemongrass. Complex, engaging, and downright delicious, this should be a wine that everyone should seek out to try. 1025 cases were produced. Better in 2023 and then enjoy for the next 12–15 years. Highly recommended and editor’s choice.International Wine Report | 97 IWRThe 2021 Pinot Noir Gap’s Crown Vineyard brings forward significantly more freshness and outstanding purity, with notes of ripe black cherry, scorched earth, and crushed violets that move seamlessly to a full-bodied palate with a satin texture, fine tannins, and notes of ripe wild raspberry, pressed herbs, and baking spices. With a pleasing freshness on the finish, this is a very attractive wine to drink over the next 8-10 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDLots of sliced strawberry and hibiscus with some sea salt here, but not overpowering. The palate is firm and racy with sleek and energetic tannins that run the length of the wine. Fresh and crisp with a citrus undertone at the end. Drinkable but better in a year or two.James Suckling | 93 JSDelivers a lovely, pure streak of pomegranate, damson plum and cherry fruit, gilded with light floral and savory notes and tinged with a mineral edge through the finish. Shows a nice racy feel from start to finish. Drink now through 2030. 1,025 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The finest example of this estate I’ve ever tasted, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a flat-out sensational effort that hits perfection. Exhibiting a deep purple hue as well as a smorgasbord-like array of cassis, scorched earth, chocolate, and spicy wood, it has a Pauillac-like cedar pencil character, full-bodied richness, and voluptuous, a layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, and sweet tannins. While there’s considerable structure, it’s concealed by the wine’s extravagant fruit, richness, and opulence. This prodigious, sensationally pure, heavenly Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be forgotten for 4-5 years and will have another three decades of overall longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is every bit as compelling as it was from barrel. Rich, deep and expansive, with tremendous depth, it has a ton to offer. Blackberry, gravel, incense, cloves, graphite and dried herbs saturate the palate. A deep, statuesque wine, the Staglin Cabernet is seriously impressive. All it needs is time. The warm, dry year produced small berries with thick skins and plenty of natural concentration. As a result, Staglin gave the 2021 an extra five months in barrel.Vinous Media | 97 VMBrambleberry, tile and dry-earth aromas follow through to a full body with layered and dry, velvety tannins. Wood is showing, but there’s plenty of fruit underneath to come out at the end. Solid young cab. 60 bottles.James Suckling | 94-95 JSNicely packed with blackberry and black currant paste notes that show underlying juiciness, while violet, melted licorice and sage accents fill in through the polished finish. Best from 2026 through 2038. 1,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The appellation 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon checks in as 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, and smaller portions of Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. It’s another fabulous wine from this estate, offering pure cr me de cassis, classy oak, new leather, and graphite-driven aromas and flavors. With medium to full-bodied richness, plush, integrated tannin, and the vintage’s fresher, focused style, it tastes like it costs three times the price. Drink bottles over the coming decades. Bravo.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDAromas of ripe blackcurrants, dried raspberries, spices, cedar and bark. Full-bodied with a mellow, fruit-forward character and creamy texture to the tannins. Delicious and smooth with a velvety finish. Better from 2026.James Suckling | 93 JSThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon deftly balances hints of vanilla and cedary oak against notes of ripe cherries and cassis. While not overly complex, it’s harmonious and supple, a medium to full-bodied wine that will complement a meal rather than overpower it, yet it still has ample concentration, richness and depth. Drink it over the next 10 - 15 years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

The 2021 Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains) is a gorgeous wine that captures the essence of the house style. Bright, lifted and wonderfully transparent, the 2021 is all class. Sweet spice and citrus accents complement a core of bright red-toned fruit. Whole cluster accents add layers of nuance. This is such a gorgeous Pinot.Vinous Media | 93 VM