It might not drive the pulse quite as much as an invitation to the annual presentation of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti‘s wines, but it’s definitely a pleasure to get the invitation to the annual Oakville Winegrowers’ tasting for the trade and media.

Oakville remains the epicenter of Napa’s highest echelon of wines. Pritchard Hill, home to Colgin, Continuum, OVID, BRAND, and more gives Oakville a run for its money, but at the end of the day, Pritchard Hill ain’t got Harlan, it ain’t got Screaming Eagle, and it ain’t got any Beckstoffer Vineyards, if you know what I mean?

No, Oakville remains the single most cult-cabernet-ish address in Napa, and therefore their annual tasting remains (for those of us non-billionaires) one of the very few opportunities to taste the upper echelon of Napa wines, including, most notably, Screaming Eagle.

It is also, in general, a damn classy tasting, all things considered. Usually held at Robert Mondavi Winery, the tasting was moved this year due to construction across the street to Opus One Winery, where a few hundred of my industry colleagues and I got a chance to taste what were, frankly, some utterly spectacular wines.

Primarily, the soon-to-be-released 2021 vintage was on offer, and the tastes I had of it confirmed my increasingly strong opinion that 2021 was the greatest vintage in Northern California in decades. The depth, complexity, and vivacity of the wines, combined with extremely fine-grained and supple tannins (for the most part) make this a vintage that is immensely pleasurably right out of the gate, but with the acidity and structure that will support 2-3 decades of improvement in the bottle.

The 2021 vintage, with its cool summer and long season, provided winemakers the opportunity to pick exactly when they wanted, supporting what I believe is a shift (slight though it may be) back towards a little more balance and slightly lower alcohols. This may be wishful thinking on my part, but I do get the sense that as a whole, the top-end of Napa Cabernet has swung its pendulum back towards acidity and lift, and away from jammy ripeness and brawn. In my book, that’s a very good thing.

If the wines are possibly swinging towards balance, they are also more certainly swinging towards the stratosphere when it comes to pricing. Once upon a time only a few wines lived in the $300-$800 range, with the majority of Napa’s most sought-after wines sitting in the mid-$200s. No longer. The number of wines releasing at prices north of $300 continues to climb, and those up in the thousands, well, let’s just say it’s starting to feel a lot like Burgundy around here.

Lest you believe that this is simply “the nature of the market” I submit for your consideration the number of really excellent wines that are still below $150 in price, sitting in and amongst their equally rated $300+ cousins. Don’t get me wrong. I can’t afford to buy $150 wines myself except on very special occasions, so let’s not forget that any three-digit price is out of reach for the vast majority of consumers.

This is not the mainstream wine market we’re exploring here. We’re in rarified air, and we would do well to remember that.

Sadly, I didn’t have time to make it to every table and taste every wine at this event, however much I would have liked to. Some tables were also poured out by the time I made my way around. I was particularly bummed to have missed most of the wines at the Rudd Estate table. I arrived early (as one does, if one wants a shot at your 1 ounce taste of Screaming Eagle), and began working through the wines, and before I knew it, people were packing up their tables and heading home.

Time flies when you’re tasting killer Cabernet, I guess.

So here are my scores and some notes on the wines I managed to taste.

Tasting Notes & Scores

In many cases, wineries have yet to release their 2021 Cabernets, which are typically sold to mailing lists and given to distributors in the fall. I have provided links to purchase wines that are non-vintage specific, so they will take you to the online listings of all vintages of that wine for sale. You may find some 2021s available at those links, and if you’re coming to this article a few months after its publication, you will certainly find the wine you’re looking for there, though be aware that the prices I quote below are the average prices for any vintage of the wine at the time of publication.

Note that there’s an odd Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay thrown in the mix below as well.

I made only sporadic notes about these wines in addition to scoring them, but those I made are provided in italics, unedited except for grammar and spelling. This was a large walk-around tasting, and while I feel quite confident about my scores, some readers who prefer highly considered and unhurried wine evaluation may want to take them with the appropriate grain of salt.

But trust me on this one fact: if you’re a buyer of top-end Napa Cabernet, you’re going to want to back up the truck for the 2021 vintage.

Wines With a Score Between 9.5 and 10

2017 BOND “Vecina” Red Blend. Juicy, fantastic, fine tannins, long, floral, delicious. $676. click to buy.
2020 BOND “Vecina” Red Blend. Fantastic brightness, cherry, hint of vanilla, supple tannins, fantastic. $987. click to buy.

Wines With a Score Around 9.5

2021 Dalla Valle “Maya” Red Blend. Gorgeous, supple, effortless, cherry, cocoa, fine-grained tannins. $530. click to buy.
2018 Futo Oakville Estate Red blend. Dark garnet, blueberry, black cherry. Oak. Juicy cherry, blueberry, great acid, supple tannins, long. $522. click to buy.
2012 Harlan Estate Red Wine. Nutty, cocoa, bright acid, long. $1582. click to buy.
2021 Maybach Wines “Materium” Red Blend. Juicy as all get-out, gorgeous, bright, fleecy tannins, supple, very long. $357. click to buy.
2018 Morlet Family Vineyards “Coeur de Vallée” Cabernet Sauvignon. Sweet fruit, great acid, bright. $217. click to buy.
2018 Peter Michael “Au Paradis – Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon. Struck match, meaty, great acid, cherry, supple tannins, bright. $243. click to buy.
2021 To Kalon Vineyard Co. “To Kalon Vineyard, H.W.C” Cabernet Sauvignon. $258. click to buy.
2021 TOR “Beckstoffer To Kalon” Cabernet Sauvignon. $336. click to buy.
2021 Turnbull Wine Cellars “Black Label” Cabernet Sauvignon. $177. click to buy.
2021 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. Cola, bright, sweet oak. $283. click to buy.

Wines With a Score Between 9 and 9.5

2021 Bevan Cellars “Tench Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon. Brawny cherry, but still fresh, muscular tannins, a hint of bitter licorice in finish. $243. click to buy.
2021 Detert Family Wines Cabernet Franc. Juicy and bright, nutty. $167. click to buy.
2021 Ehrlich Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Fresh, bright, sweet oak. $110.
2021 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon. $300. click to buy.
2019 Favia Wines “La Magdalena” Red Wine. Sweet cola, cherry, smooth. $259. click to buy.
2021 Flora Springs “Holy Smoke Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon. $130. click to buy.
2015 Gamble Family Vineyards “Cairo” Cabernet Sauvignon. $125. click to buy.
2019 Gamble Family Vineyards “Family Home” Cabernet Sauvignon. $170. click to buy.
2019 Gamble Family Vineyards “Cairo” Cabernet Sauvignon. $185. click to buy.
2021 Gargiulo Vineyards “G Major 7 Study” Cabernet Sauvignon. $165. click to buy.
2019 Groth Vineyards & Winery “Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon. $164. click to buy.
2020 Harlan Estate Red Wine. Bright, fleecy tannins, good acid. $1870. click to buy.
2018 Maybach Wines “Materium” Red Wine. Rich, ripe, great acid, supple. $371. click to buy.
2018 Morlet Family Vineyards “Passionnement’, Oakville” Cabernet Sauvignon. Sweet fruit, sweet oak, long, great acid. $349. click to buy.
2017 Opus One Red Wine. Smooth tannins, graphite, and cherry, long, balanced. $451. click to buy.
2016 Paradigm Winery Cabernet Sauvignon. $111. click to buy.
2021 Peter Michael “Au Paradis” Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Lush, supple, dark cherry, licorice, violets. $242. click to buy.
2021 PlumpJack “Oakville Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon. $174. click to buy.
2021 Schrader Cellars “To Kalon Vineyard – Heritage Clone” Cabernet Sauvignon. Inky, rich, ripe and lush. Supple tannins with muscle. $460. click to buy.
2019 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon. Graphite and black cherry, cedar, bright acidity, supple tannins, long. Touch of heat on finish. $3828. click to buy.
2021 TOR Wines “Vine Hill Ranch” Cabernet Sauvignon. $297. click to buy.
2021 TOR “Oakville” Cabernet Sauvignon. $120. click to buy.
2021 Turnbull Wine Cellars “Oakville Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon. $110. click to buy.

Wines With a Score Around 9

2021 Bevan Cellars “Tin Box Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon. Ripe, jammy, roasted fig and black cherry. $230. click to buy.
2021 Detert Family Wines “East Block” Cabernet Franc. $195. click to buy.
2016 Far Niente Cave Collection Cabernet Sauvignon. $400. click to buy.
2019 Favia Wines Cabernet Sauvignon. Plush, cherry. $259. click to buy.
2021 Gargiulo Vineyards “Money Road Ranch” Cabernet Sauvignon. Dusty roads. $103. click to buy.
2020 Groth Vineyards & Winery “Oakcross” Proprietary Red Wine. $100. click to buy.
2021 Groth Vineyards & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon. $66. click to buy.
2022 Groth Vineyards & Winery “Estate” Sauvignon Blanc. $28. click to buy.
2021 Meyer Family Cellars “Fluffy Billows” Cabernet Sauvignon. $69. click to buy.
2019 Meyer Family Cellars “Le Bon Bon” Cabernet Sauvignon. $120. click to buy.
2014 Meyer Family Cellars “Bonny’s Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon. $150. click to buy.
2019 Morlet Family “Force Tranquille” Cabernet Franc. Plush, rich, and ripe. $381. click to buy.
2016 Nemerever Vineyards “Estate Complement” Cabernet Sauvignon. $85. click to buy.
2018 Nemerever Vineyards “Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon. $125. click to buy.
2018 Oakville Ranch “100% Oakville Ranch Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon. $190. click to buy.
2015 Paradigm Winery Cabernet Sauvignon. $118. click to buy.
2019 Raymond Vineyards “District Collection – Oakville” Cabernet Sauvignon. $145. click to buy.
2021 Robert Mondavi Winery “The Estates, Oakville” Cabernet Sauvignon. $89. click to buy.
2021 Rudd Estate “Crossroads by Rudd” Cabernet Sauvignon. $83. click to buy.
2019 Screaming Eagle “The Flight” Red Wine. Black cherry and cassis, cedar, oak, some heat. Great acidity. Nutty notes. $1151. click to buy.

2018 Spoto Family Wines “Family Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon. $170.
2019 Stanton Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. $85. click to buy.
2013 Teaderman Vineyards “Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon. $80.
2021 Tench Vineyards “Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon. $205. click to buy.
2021 TEXTBOOK “Mise en Place” Cabernet Sauvignon. $78. click to buy.
2015 Ulysses Vineyard Red Blend. $184. click to buy.
2019 Vine Cliff Winery “Oakville Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon. $95. click to buy.

Wines With a Score Between 8.5 and 9

2021 Detert Family Wines Cabernet Sauvignon. $126. click to buy.
2021 Meyer Family Cellars “Spitfire” Cabernet Sauvignon. $64. click to buy.
2013 Miner Family Winery Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. $60. click to buy.
2019 Miner Family Winery Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. $98. click to buy.
2022 O’Shaughnessy Estate “Estate” Chardonnay. $66. click to buy.
2019 Oakville Ranch “30th Anniversary” Cabernet Sauvignon. $125. click to buy.
2019 Spoto Family Wines “Private Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon. $199. click to buy.
2019 Stanton Vineyards “Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon. $85.
2020 Stanton Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. $85.
2017 Teaderman Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. $80.
2021 Tench Vineyards “Estate” Cabernet Franc. $??
2021 TEXTBOOK “Page-Turner” Proprietary Red Wine. $81. click to buy.
2020 ULYSSES Red Blend. Ripe. $180. click to buy.
2021 Vine Cliff Winery “Oakville Estate” Malbec. $95. click to buy.

Wines With a Score Around 8.5

2013 Spoto Family Wines “Private Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon.

Featured image of Opus One Winery courtesy of the Oakville Winegrowers Association.