Premiere Napa Valley: 2021 Takes Center Stage

This Saturday’s Premiere Napa Valley (PNV) auction is going to offer some fantastic, limited-production wines in the sale at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in St. Helena. I have already tasted two dozen samples, mostly from barrel, and they highlight the superb quality of the 2021 vintage for Napa Valley, particularly cabernet sauvignon. Most of the lots are either 60 or 120 bottles, and they were selected just for the annual event that raises money supporting Napa Valley through the work of Napa Valley Vintners.

So many reds I tasted showed excellent tannin structure, which seems to be a hallmark for the vintage. It was a hot and dry year again, and many wine producers told me they reduced their grape crop levels anywhere from about 10 percent to 30 percent. Berry size was also smaller and skins were thicker. It’s interesting to see such a tannin-driven year as 2021. It reminds me of something like 2016 or 2013, which were also two tannin-driven years for reds, but the top reds in 2021 have even more polish and focus as well as freshness.

Many of the two dozen or so winemakers I tasted with and spoke to over the last two weeks shared the views of the excellent winemaker Nick Gislason of Screaming Eagle. He was blending his 2021 when I spoke to him.

“2021, the quality is most excellent,” he said.  “We are really happy where we are. We have a lot of harmony. The berries were small, but the tannins were great. They were silky and nice. In the end the tannins are better than average. They are very silky and elegant.”

Check out my tasting notes of the PNV samples I tasted.

– James Suckling, Editor/Chairman