{"id":15487,"date":"2023-11-09T13:58:36","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T13:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewineindependent.com\/?post_type=article&p=15487"},"modified":"2024-04-04T14:19:08","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T14:19:08","slug":"2021-napa-valley-vintage-report-new-releases","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/thewineindependent.com\/articles\/2021-napa-valley-vintage-report-new-releases\/","title":{"rendered":"2021 Napa Valley Vintage Report and New Releases\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Without any wildfires to taint the harvest, 2021 was a blissful reprieve from 2020 in Napa Valley, but not without its challenges.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \"\"\/\n

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Dry conditions coupled with a cool February and March kept the Cabernet Sauvignon vines dormant until mid-April. The latter part of April and throughout May were pleasantly warm and sunny, kick-starting slow, steady shoot growth. Yet the drought conditions set a smaller-than-average crop, which turned out to be a blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June brought moderately hot temperatures with peaks mainly in the mid-80s F. However, there was one heat spike into the third week, sending temperatures spiking to just over 100 degrees F. Coming at this stage of the game, the impact was minimal. There were also a couple of late-season heat surges at the end of August and the beginning of September, but these were barely above 100 degrees and short-lived. Cabernet vines can easily cope with this moderate level of late-season heat stress if\u2014and this is a big IF\u2014there is sufficient water to see them through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not too hot, not too cool, and with sunshine nearly every day in the summer of 2021\u2014what more could Napa Valley winemakers ask for?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Water. The winter of 2020 and spring of 2021 were incredibly dry. The total winter\/spring rainfall prior to the 2021 growing season was 10.35 inches (263 mm), which is less than a third of what is usually required\/expected. By 2021, the Northern California drought situation was becoming like 2015 all over again and, in some cases, worse. Reservoirs were depleted. Feuds broke out between landowners over water rights. In Carneros, wells were running dry. Water-witching made a comeback as desperate growers needed to find new water sources to irrigate their vines. Even with the smaller fruit set, more fruit than usual had to be dropped to adjust for what the vines could manage under such dry conditions. When the heat spell hit at the end of August\/beginning of September, for many growers, it became a matter of choosing which children to save, as some sections of vineyards had to be abandoned to maintain others with precious little irrigation reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that it was otherwise a relatively uneventful, outstanding growing season. With the vines naturally and necessarily bearing smaller loads, Bordeaux varieties ripened swiftly, uniformly, and manageably. It was a dream vintage for anyone working harvest. Small berries yielded intense flavors with ripe tannins and great concentration without going overblown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the Napa Valley 2021 Bordeaux varieties wines (Cabernet Sauvignons, Cabernet Francs, Merlot, and blends) were bottled from June through August of this year (2023). I\u2019ve been tasting the newly bottled wines since August and have thus far found this a consistently great vintage. As for style, I\u2019m finding the Cabernets to be like a hypothetical blend of 2018 and 2019, possessing all the brightness, purity, and structure of 2018 yet with more of the concentration and weight of 2019. Constructed with solid backbones of ripe, approachable tannins and impressively taut, tightly wound black and blue fruit layers, the best 2021 Napa Cabernets will age 25 to 40 years or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quality in 2021 is high, but after the minuscule 2020 crop and considering 2022 will be relatively small, three consecutive years of lower yields equates to slim pickings out there for Napa wine buyers. More importantly, 2021 is by far the strongest vintage of this trio and right up there with Napa\u2019s top vintages of the 21st Century so far. Therefore, I recommend buying whatever you\u2019re offered\/can find of the 2021s and taking advice on the 2020s and the forthcoming 2022s. Fortunately, 2023 has produced a bumper crop, and from what I\u2019ve seen so far, quality seems consistently high, so there\u2019s good news on the horizon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Also, spotlight feature articles have recently been published or are due to be published this year on the following Napa producers:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Aubert<\/strong><\/p>\n

AXR<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brand<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cliff Lede<\/strong><\/p>\n

Colgin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fe Wines<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hourglass<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hundred Acre<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jasud<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kinsman Eades<\/strong><\/p>\n

La Pelle<\/strong><\/p>\n

Memento Mori<\/strong><\/p>\n

Myriad<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neotempo<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Hobbs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Realm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spottswoode<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sullivan Estate<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Vineyardist<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vida Valiente<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Check out our\u00a0Articles<\/span><\/a><\/em>\u00a0page to find the articles that have already been published and our\u00a0Editorial Calendar<\/span><\/a><\/em>\u00a0for all the latest in-the-pipeline details. If you don\u2019t see your favorite winery on the list yet and\/or it hasn\u2019t been reviewed, I\u2019m planning another series of Napa articles for early 2024 to include the later releasing Napa wines (e.g., Harlan Estate).\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Happy Napa Valley wine hunting!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u2013
Article & Reviews by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
Photography by Svante \u00d6rnberg<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See more work from Svante at svanteornberg.se<\/strong> by clicking here!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PRODUCERS IN THIS ARTICLE <\/h2>\n > Show all wines sorted by score<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n Accendo Cellars<\/a>\n Ackerman Family<\/a>\n Acre<\/a>\n Acumen<\/a>\n Almacerro<\/a>\n Alpha Omega<\/a>\n Alta<\/a>\n Amulet Estate<\/a>\n Anarchist Wine Co.<\/a>\n Aratas<\/a>\n Argot<\/a>\n Arietta<\/a>\n Baker & Hamilton<\/a>\n Baldacci Family Vineyards<\/a>\n Barnett Vineyards<\/a>\n Barrett & Barrett<\/a>\n Battuello Vineyards<\/a>\n Beaulieu Vineyard<\/a>\n Bella Oaks<\/a>\n Black Stallion<\/a>\n Boeschen<\/a>\n Boich Family Cellar<\/a>\n Bouchaine<\/a>\n Boyd<\/a>\n Buoncristiani<\/a>\n Cade<\/a>\n Cakebread<\/a>\n Caladan<\/a>\n Canard<\/a>\n Cardinale<\/a>\n Castello di Amorosa<\/a>\n Cervantes<\/a>\n Chappellet<\/a>\n Charles Krug<\/a>\n Chimney Rock<\/a>\n Chorley<\/a>\n Clif Family Winery<\/a>\n Clos du Val<\/a>\n Clos Pegase<\/a>\n Corison<\/a>\n Corley Family<\/a>\n Correlation<\/a>\n Crosby Roamann<\/a>\n Cuvaison<\/a>\n Darioush<\/a>\n Davies<\/a>\n Diamond Creek<\/a>\n Earthshine Wines<\/a>\n Ellman<\/a>\n Etude<\/a>\n Farella<\/a>\n Faust<\/a>\n Faustini<\/a>\n Favia<\/a>\n Fiftyrow<\/a>\n Foley Johnson<\/a>\n Fortunati<\/a>\n Freemark Abbey<\/a>\n Gaderian<\/a>\n Gallica<\/a>\n Gamble Family<\/a>\n Gentleman Farmer<\/a>\n Girard<\/a>\n Goosecross<\/a>\n Grand Napa<\/a>\n Grape Culture<\/a>\n Grgich Hills Estate<\/a>\n Groth<\/a>\n Guarachi Family Wines<\/a>\n Hall<\/a>\n Hartford<\/a>\n Hartford Court<\/a>\n Heir Apparent<\/a>\n Hertelendy<\/a>\n Hesperian<\/a>\n Honig<\/a>\n Inglenook<\/a>\n J. McClelland<\/a>\n J. Moss<\/a>\n Jax Vineyards<\/a>\n JCB (Jean Charles Boisset)<\/a>\n Joseph Phelps<\/a>\n Kapcsandy Family Winery<\/a>\n Kind<\/a>\n Krupp Brothers<\/a>\n La Jota Vineyard<\/a>\n La Sirena<\/a>\n Ladera<\/a>\n Lail Vineyards<\/a>\n Laird Family Estate<\/a>\n Lang & Reed<\/a>\n Larkmead<\/a>\n Larry Hyde Vineyard Estate<\/a>\n Lateral<\/a>\n Lawer Estates<\/a>\n Leviathan<\/a>\n Lewis Cellars<\/a>\n Lobo<\/a>\n Lokoya<\/a>\n Louis Martini<\/a>\n LVE<\/a>\n Mario Bazan<\/a>\n Markham Vineyards<\/a>\n Maroon<\/a>\n Martin Estate<\/a>\n Materra<\/a>\n Mathew Bruno<\/a>\n McKahn Family Cellars<\/a>\n Merus<\/a>\n Mia Carta<\/a>\n Michael Mondavi<\/a>\n Miner<\/a>\n Montague<\/a>\n Mt. Brave<\/a>\n Neal Family Vineyards<\/a>\n New Frontier Wine Company<\/a>\n Nottingham Cellars<\/a>\n Odette<\/a>\n Orin Swift<\/a>\n Parallel<\/a>\n Patel<\/a>\n Patent<\/a>\n Patent Wines<\/a>\n Patland<\/a>\n Paula Kornell<\/a>\n Perchance<\/a>\n Plumpjack<\/a>\n Portfolio<\/a>\n Pride Mountain<\/a>\n PureCru<\/a>\n Quilt Wines<\/a>\n Quivet Cellars<\/a>\n Quixote<\/a>\n Raymond<\/a>\n Robert Biale<\/a>\n Robert Mondavi Winery<\/a>\n Rombauer Vineyards<\/a>\n Roots Run Deep<\/a>\n Rutherford Hill<\/a>\n Rutherford Ranch<\/a>\n Salvestrin<\/a>\n Schramsberg<\/a>\n Senses<\/a>\n Sequoia Grove<\/a>\n Seven Apart<\/a>\n Shafer<\/a>\n Silverado Vineyards<\/a>\n Sleeping Giant<\/a>\n Smith Deveraux<\/a>\n Snowden<\/a>\n St. Supery<\/a>\n Stags' Leap Winery<\/a>\n Stanton Vineyard<\/a>\n Stanton Vineyards<\/a>\n Stardust<\/a>\n Stewart<\/a>\n Stonestreet<\/a>\n Stringer Cellars<\/a>\n Sylvie Estate<\/a>\n Tamber Bey<\/a>\n Teachworth<\/a>\n Textbook<\/a>\n The Crane Assembly<\/a>\n The Vice<\/a>\n Titus<\/a>\n Toymaker<\/a>\n Trefethen<\/a>\n Trois Noix<\/a>\n Turnbull<\/a>\n V. Sattui Winery<\/a>\n VHR-Vine Hill Ranch<\/a>\n Viader<\/a>\n Vineyard 36<\/a>\n Vineyard 7 & 8<\/a>\n VinRoc<\/a>\n Wappo Hill<\/a>\n Whitehall Lane<\/a>\n Work Vineyard<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
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More articles<\/h2>\n
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Bordeaux 2023 Vintage Report and Reviews from Barrel<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

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09th May 2024<\/p>\n

649 tasting notes<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n

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Cathiard Vineyard New Releases<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

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02nd May 2024<\/p>\n

3 tasting notes<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n

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Bordeaux 2023 Preliminary Vintage Report and Reviews from Barrel<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

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29th Apr 2024<\/p>\n

56 tasting notes<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n

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2021 Bordeaux in Bottle\u00a0and A Modest Proposal<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

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24th Apr 2024<\/p>\n

599 tasting notes<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

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Show all articles<\/p>\n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":9970,"parent":0,"template":"","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2021 Napa Valley Vintage Report and New Releases\u00a0<\/title>\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n