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  • A bottle of Etude Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
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2021 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

2021 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

Oakville750ml

The Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon was the third appellation wine to be introduced in our Cabernet series of very small bottlings dedicated to the benchland sub-appellations of Napa Valley. This bo...

The Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon was the third appellation wine to be introduced in our Cabernet series of very small bottlings dedicated to the benchland sub-appellations of Napa Valley. This bottling marks the eighth vintage of the Oakville Cabernet and celebrates Etude’s long-term relationship with one of the most highly regarded winegrowers in Napa Valley.

$155.00
$155.00

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Specifications

  • Vintage: 2021
  • Region: Napa Valley
  • Appelation: Oakville
  • Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting Notes

This Cabernet is a classic representation of Oakville, with a bold, vibrant character, and remarkable depth and complexity, tributes of the cooler western bench location in the valley. There is a fresh, purity of dark berry fruit present, with layers of dark black cherry, blackberry cobbler and acai berry fruit, supported by savory notes of wild violet, crushed granite minerality, and forest floor. Tremendously concentrated with a generous balance and mouth-coating, glycerin-like tannin quality that provides a silky and supple texture. The well-integrated oak spice is delicate and nuanced, leading to a long mouth-watering finish with incredible intensity and savory-ness. Full-bodied with tremendous structure that will continue to open and evolve as it ages, over many years to come.

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Expert reviews

96 POINTS

“Aromas of blackberries, cocoa, cedar and tobacco leaves. The palate is full-bodied with fine tannins and balanced acidity, giving flavors of licorice, spices, olive tapenade and graphite. A powerful and refined wine that will develop with time in the bottle. Drink or hold.” - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, January 2025

95 POINTS

“Vivid and polished, with a beautiful beam of plum, açaí berry and blackberry puree flavors that glisten as they cruise through, picking up light violet, apple wood and warm earth accents along the way. A lovely tang of iron resonates through the finish. A wine of poise. Drink now through 2040.” – James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

Winemaker Jon Priest walking between rows of grapevines in a vineyard.

The Vineyard

Vine Hill Ranch

Grapes were sourced exclusively from Block Three of the Vine Hill Ranch, planted to Clone 337, nestled along the hills of the Mayacamas Mountain Range at the south end of the Oakville AVA. The Phillips family has carefully managed this alluvial benchland vineyard with cobbly soils for three generations, home to some of the most expressive and concentrated Cabernet grapes in the Napa Valley. Michael Wolf, who has watched over Vine Hill for nearly two decades, makes certain the vineyard is healthy and offering its ultimate expression for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Process

The 2021 vintage

  • The 2021 season was joyous and welcomed after the challenges of previous vintages, producing exceptionally high-quality fruit, some of the best in recent years. A tremendous year to taste the nuances and terroir distinction from around the valley.
  • Stylized pixel art of a flower

    Spring

    Rain early in the year led to almost no notable precipitation for the rest of the season, providing an ideal environment for grapes to flower, bloom, and set in early spring, with budbreak early in April, followed by flowering and bloom in May.

  • Stylized pixel art of the sun

    Summer

    The summer saw early and even ripening throughout the valley, with veraison appearing in early July.Low yields (in part due to drought conditions), created fruit that is intensely flavored and smaller in berry size.

    One of the earliest starts, harvest began with white wine grapes coming in towards late July, while red wine grapes arrived about a month later, at the end of August.

  • Stylized pixel art of a leaf

    Harvest

    With optimal ripening and taste, our winemakers took their time bringing grapes in, crafting wines of fantastic character, with amazing color extraction, aromatic intensity, tremendous balance, and structure, that are equally lush and fruity.

Winemaker Jon Priest holding up harvested grapes near stainless steel fermentation tanks.

Crafted Excellence

Winemaking

The grapes were cold soaked for 3-5 days and fermented on their skins in open top fermenters. An extended maceration period followed fermentation, to help modify the depth and mouthfeel of the wine, and to fully extract color, flavor, and aromatics. The young wine was then racked into small French oak barrels – using a selection of coopers and forests to accentuate the vineyard distinctions – where it aged for 20 months in 100% French Oak (75% new). Each lot was kept separate until final blending. The resulting wine was returned to barrel for an additional nine months of aging.