2021 Gravel Pit Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville, Napa Valley

SF Wine Panel Score 98+ Points

This is a concentrated Cabernet that vividly captures the character of its famous appellation. The nose is a super-deep perfume of sour red cherry, crab apple syrup, red currant jelly, hazelnut nougat, baking spice, cedar, sweet tobacco and dried herbal scents. it proves hugely rich on the palate, showing the firmness of its great vintage while being at once densely fruity and deep in oaky spice. The flavors are a palate-drenching medley of everything the nose promises and they arrive as a wave of fruit that briefly smothers the wine's tannic and mineral underpinnings. Delicious already, it grows ever more deeply fruity as it airs, finishing with a push of dark cherry, black raspberry and licorice root. The lingering memory is of classic Oakville fruit, minerality and oaky spice. It is a great wine in the making and one likely to improve for likely even years and perhaps beyond.