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Firmly structured, age-worthy and so focused and deep in black fruit, this is an especially impressive wine from a highly rated year. Aromas of mint, cedar, star anise, charcoal and graphite, then blackberries, dark spices, blueberries and toast. Massive but fine-grained tannins that carry the intensity through to a lingering finish. Full bodied. Best after 2030.James Suckling | 100 JSDarker currants, smoked tobacco, crushed stone, and graphite notes all give the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon a Latour-like stature and regalness, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered mouthfeel, and a great finish. One of the more inward and structured examples of this cuvée that I can remember, it’s nevertheless flawlessly balanced, has everything in the right place, and is just a magical Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon that every reader would love to have in their cellar. It should have half a century of overall longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDTasted as the final blend, which was scheduled to be bottled in December 2023, Bryant’s 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon combines mint, sage, crushed stone, pencil shavings, cherries and cassis on the nose. Is it perhaps just a bit more complex than the Bettina? It’s certainly just as powerful and concentrated, being full-bodied and richly tannic but ripe, silky and almost never-ending on the finish. Personal preference will play heavily into which of the two wines you enjoy more, but both are packed with pleasure.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97-99 RPThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is superb. Vibrant and dynamic in the glass, it captures all the energy of this great Pritchard Hill site. Graphite, pencil shavings, plum, leather, spice and lavender race across the palate. Its build is vertical and explosive, in classic Bryant style. All this needs is time in bottle. The 2021 is seriously impressive.Vinous Media | 97 VM

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is seamless and luxurious in the glass. Silky tannins wrap around a core of black fruit, mocha, licorice, chocolate and lavender. The 2021 has closed down quite a bit since I last tasted it, but that is not entirely surprising, given its pedigree. This is such a captivating wine. What a knockout.Vinous Media | 100 VMA rather linear and tight Grace with currant, graphite and cedar aromas and flavors. Notes of spearmint, red currants and pine nuts. Some crushed stone. It’s medium-bodied with very fine tannins. Very refined at the end. About two thirds of the lower plot of the vineyard are from new plantings. Pure cabernet. Give this four to five years to come around, but it’s already beautiful to drink.James Suckling | 98 JSStarting with the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, this inky purple-hued beauty offers a rich, powerful nose of ripe black and blue fruits intermixed with spring flowers, violets, and chocolate, with an almost Graves-like scorched earth character. It’s beautifully textured, full-bodied, has a concentrated mid-palate, sweet tannins, and a great finish. This regal, balanced, incredibly impressive Cabernet Sauvignon needs 4-5 years in the cellar and will have 20-30 years of overall longevity. It’s a special wine.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDA vividly ripe red, with a nicely inlaid juicy streak that gives the flavors of red and black currant and blackberry a bristling energy. Cast iron, tobacco, violet and applewood notes underscore the finish. Rather backward now, this is well worth the wait. Best from 2026 through 2040. 210 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 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

A flagship best barrel selection, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Alejandro Bulgheroni checks in as 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc from a mix of Oakville and St. Helena fruit that spent 22 months in 72% new barrels. It’s another inky-hued, glass-staining wine revealing incredible aromatics of pure crème de cassis, black raspberries, flowery incense, new leather, and chocolate. These all carry to a full-bodied, flawlessly balanced, utterly heavenly 2021 that has ripe, polished tannins, no hard edges, incredible purity, and a great, great finish. finish. It needs 4-5 years to show its full potential but will be a 30+ year wine.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDWinemaker Matt Sands describes the Alejandro Bulheroni bottling as “the Burgundian expression of Cabernet,” in that it is a blend of the absolute best fruit from each vintage from Napa’s top vineyards—culled together by winemakers Philippe Melka, Michel Rolland, and Matt Sands and is considered the flagship wine of the Lithology estate. It’s beautifully assembled and is entirely an intellectual wine, with heady, complex dark fruit aromas and flavours, long beams of fine tannins and a panoply of intricate nuances. The raw material includes some of the winery’s finest Beckstoffer Vineyard fruit and estate grapes—lots that could easily be blended into the single-vineyard bottlings with the named vineyard on the label. Nevertheless, here it is, and it’s a wine so brazen and structured, so densely compact that it would be a real shame to pop the cork now. I’ll re-taste this barrel sample in the spring of 2024 when it’s had another six months of bottle age, but even then, I expect it to need more time.Decanter Magazine | 97 DECThere are just 100 cases of the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, blended from Oakville and Saint Helena fruit. Meant to be a best-of-the-best selection and blend, it does include 10% Cabernet Franc and plenty of new French oak. It’s cedary and menthol-scented on the nose, those notes joining slow-to-unfurl ripe cassis and black cherry aromas. This full-bodied, velvety-textured wine finishes with refreshing crispness and ample length.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThis is tight and closed with a solid core of fruit that comes through clearly. It’s full yet toned, with pretty blackberries, blackcurrants and walnuts. Hint of nutmeg, too. Firm and integrated tannins. A blend of top wines from the vintage. 90% cabernet sauvignon and 10% cabernet franc. Best after 2026.James Suckling | 96 JS

Moving to the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, it’s 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and the balanced 7% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot. Insanely pure, it offers kaleidoscope-like aromatics of black and blue fruits, spring flowers, chocolate, burning embers, and bouquet garni. Full-bodied on the palate, it doesn’t get any better, and it’s concentrated, has building tannins, and a monster of a finish. Offering more generosity and opulence than just about every other wine in the vintage, this is a killer bottle of wine! It will make your eyes roll back in your head today, yet will ideally be given 4-5 years of bottle age and will evolve gracefully over the following two decades. Bravo!Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDEach year, the blend of Ovid wines varies depending on the vintage. Winemaker Austin Peterson prefers not to pre-plan the blend, instead approaching each vintage with a fresh perspective. Often, the wine needs more Cabernet Sauvignon to qualify as a Napa Valley varietal wine. The vineyard features an abundance of Clone 4, planted across four of its 17 blocks within the 6ha site. This clone contributes a distinctive savoury character and polish, evident in the 2021 vintage with its flinty minerals, green tobacco, and mulberry fruit, reminiscent of Napa Cabernets from the 1970s. Comprising 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, the wine is aged 20 months in 66% new French oak. It is full-bodied with ripe, chewy tannins that assert themselves on entry but gradually soften, revealing a beautifully layered wine with mineral-infused mulberry fruit and green tobacco aromas. The wine exhibits notable tension, supported by a pH level 3.78, ensuring vibrancy and freshness. It is a pedigreed wine characterised by balance, intensity, and complexity.Decanter Magazine | 100 DECThe purity of fruit and class to this wine is really impressive, with roses, lavender. violets and blackcurrants and a sweet lift. Medium- to full-bodied with very long and racy tannins. They go from the front of your palate to the back. This is so beautiful and graceful yet structured. Give this at least four to five years. Best after 2028.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2021 Ovid is another exceptional wine in this range. Dark shades of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit open first, followed by hints of leather, lavender, spice, tobacco and incense that lend complexity. Deep and structured, with notably finessed tannins for a young mountain wine, the 2021 delivers the goods. This is quite impressive in the early going, especially with time in the glass.Vinous Media | 97 VMLike the 2021 Hexameter, Ovid’s 2021 Red Wine combines red and black fruits, bright acids and ripe tannins. Hints of redcurrants accent black cherries, joined by mocha and baking spices on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied and framed by dusty tannins, finishing long and fresh. If I’ve been conservative in my rating of this blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, it’s just because it comes across as a bit edgy, in need of several years of cellaring for it to show its best.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RP

Another absolute legend from the 2021, the 2021 Proprietary Red is based on 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot brought up in plenty of new oak. It brings another level of density, purity, and regalness, with awesome blackcurrants, iron, roasted herbs, tobacco, and a Latour-like graphite character all defining the aromatics. Full-bodied, rich, and concentrated, it has a seamless mouthfeel, absolutely incredible tannin, ample mid-palate depth, and flawless overall balance. While it certainly offers pleasure today, it’s going to take a solid 8-10 years of bottle age for this to hit maturity, and it will be a 40- to 50-year wine. Hats off to the team at Sloan.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThe 2021 Sloan is every bit as impressive as it was last year. Rich, dense and explosive, the 2021 is a gorgeous, ynamic wine. Sumptuous dark red cherry, red plum, rose petal, new leather and cinnamon give this plush, opulent Cabernet Sauvignon tons of character. The 2021 was only bottled a few months ago, so it has room to grow. It is a seriously beautiful, rapturous wine.Vinous Media | 98+ VM

The 2021 L’Apparita is sublime. A wine of compelling inner perfume and exotic richness, the 2021 is shaping up to be one of the great L’Apparitas. Inky dark fruit, espresso, licorice, lavender and crushed rocks abound in a towering, statuesque wine that will absolutely thrill those lucky enough to own it. It perfectly embodies all the greatest qualities of this historic vintage.Vinous Media | 100 VMAlways one of the greatest Merlots from Italy, the gorgeous 2021 L’Apparita is all about finesse, starting with its enticing aromas of lavender, Mediterranean scrub, graphite, licorice and red berry. It’s also incredibly delicious, with layers of ripe raspberry, bitter orange, cocoa and vanilla wrapped up in smooth, velvety tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it balanced. What a beauty. Drink through 2041. Abv: 14.5% Kerin O’Keefe | 98 KOThis shows so much depth and intensity, with a beautiful nose of dark fruit, walnuts, licorice, iodine and seashells. Some wood showing now. Pure and structured. It shows both richness and freshness, with a full body and a compact, seamless tannin structure. Need time to soften. Try after 2028.James Suckling | 97 JSOne of Italy’s most collected Merlots, the Castello di Ama 2021 L’Apparita opens to a rich and inky-dark appearance. Very true to the grape, this vintage hits impeccable ripeness with soft cherry intensity and spice that is padded by extra textural fiber. Like always, this wine is especially successful in terms of mouthfeel and finish. The bouquet has ripe fruit, softly toasted spice and a hint of olive tapenade. It is quite the mouthful.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPExpressive and racy, this red features cherry, black currant, violet, green olive, cedar, stone and sweet spice aromas and flavors. Vibrant and firm, with savory elements of Tuscan scrub. Needs time to shed its tannins, but the length reveals its potential. Best from 2027 through 2045. 950 cases made, 100 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

Composed of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2021 La Joie sports a deep garnet-purple color. It comes galloping out of the glass with energetic notes of fresh red and black currants, mulberries and candied violets, giving way to evocative wafts of cardamom, clove oil, and iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate is built like a brick house, delivering taut, muscular black fruit and very firm, finely grained tannins, plus a finely knit line of freshness, finishing long and energetic. It’s tightly wound and will require patience to allow the tertiary characters to blossom. Forget it for 5-7 years in the cellar and drink it over the following 30 years+.The Wine Independent | 100 TWIAlso inky black, the 2021 La Joie is packed with loads of licorice, blackcurrant, menthol, and polished leather. Full-bodied and plush, with a rocky texture, massive structure, and tremendous power, it will be a wine to cellar while you’re drinking the 2022s.Jeb Dunnuck | 98-100 JDThe 2021 La Joie is composed of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, and the wine was matured for 16 months in 95% new French oak. It’s exceptionally pure and layered on the nose, its scents of blackcurrant and blueberry accented by tones of lavender and cardamom. The full-bodied palate is effortlessly seamless. It features Goldilocks ripeness, loads of powdery, suede-textured tannins and bursts of mouthwatering acidity. Though its flavors are youthfully coiled, it opens dramatically over several days, and it will be epically long lived in the cellar. 2,500 cases were made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RP

Valuable project, aimed at exploring an unpublished plot located to the southeast. Olfaction with cloves and pomegranate, valdostan mint and yellow peach, with touches of almond and orange zest. Brackish tannins on the palate, call of small fruits and minty notes. Luca Gardini | 110 LGThe 2021 Brunello Di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova pours a deep red hue and opens with an exceptionally layered bouquet of suede, cigar box, tobacco, black cherries, and plum. Full-bodied, it’s packed with youthful tension at this stage, but it has a seamless, weightless feel, with polished tannins, refreshing acidity, and a flinty mineral edge that keeps the finish lifted and long. It’s a gorgeous Tenuta Nuova that has everything working in harmony and will only improve with time in bottle. Drink 2026-2050.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDDark berry, walnut, cedar, thyme and some caramel aromas that follow through to a medium to full body with firm tannins and a tight and racy mouthfeel. Citrus and cherries at the end. Needs time to open and soften, but this is a solid Brunello. Try after 2028.James Suckling | 98 JSCitrus-infused herbal tea, crushed raspberries, pine shavings and incense beguile as the 2021 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova blossoms in the glass. It is surprisingly juicy yet deep and complex, with tart wild berry saturation and nuances of ground clove that add cheek-pinching tension and a balancing tinge of zesty acidity. An array of edgy tannins frames the incredibly long finish, which is spicy and youthfully tense with a blackberry resonance. This is a fascinating vintage for Tenuta Nuova that shows a humbling level of complexity.Vinous Media | 96 VM