Brown Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Cabernet was the second varietal released by Brown Estate label following their success with Zinfandel in 2000.

This wine is produced from two vineyards blocks on the east side of the family's Chiles Valley property: the hillside Terraces Block (1300 feet high, the vines here struggle, yielding sparsely-clustered tiny berries with inky intensity) and the Far East Block (more robust, surrounded by oak trees. The two blocks are blended for a comprehensive expression of Napa Valley hillside Cabernet Sauvignon. 

The 2021 vintage produced a more elegant style of Cabernet. During the 2020 Napa fires, the flames came within a few feet of the estate's Cabernet blocks. As the vines recovered in 2021, they produced lower yields, and lower ripeness levels.

The wine opens with notes of rose, English lavender, eucalyptus, bay laurel, ripe boysenberry and blackberry along with secondary notes of whipped brown butter, sugar, nutmeg crumble, morning bakery, cardamom, limestone dust, and amphora. The palate is structured yet sumptuous with balanced acidity and ripe fruit. Medium-plus body, silky mouthfeel, densely concentrated fruit, blood orange, and spice. With delicate fine tannins, persistent finish. Drink now through 2040+.