92 Points - Wine Spectator
92 Points - Wine Enthusiast
92 Points - James Suckling
90 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
90 Points - Wine Advocate
The underlying tannin structure, complexity, and ample fruit will evolve over time and age gracefully for 10-15 years.
Recently voted Winery of the Year from Quarterly Review of Wine & Spirits Magazine. Napa Valley Life Magazine has also rated their tasting room as Best Tasting Room in Napa Valley.
This winery continues to receive accolades and awards for producing exceptional world-class wines. In Wine Spectator Magazine’s year-end ranking of wines, Whitehall Lane has been honored three times for producing wines rated among the top five in the world.
WINEMAKING
Upon hand harvesting in the early morning hours, our grapes were carefully destemmed and sent to tank for a whole-berry fermentation. The grapes were cold-soaked in tank at 45˚F for 4-7 days, allowing for increased color, aroma and flavor extraction. After inoculation with a select yeast, the grape must (juice, skins and seeds) fermented at 82˚F, which allowed for a hot extraction on the skins. For fermentation cap management, the juice was pumped over the skins two times per day, wetting the cap evenly for a nice healthy fermentation. After fermentation and pressing, the 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in 50% new French oak and 50% neutral oak for 20 months. The final blend is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot, 1% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot and was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
VINTAGE
The 2021 vintage was considered a drought year, which have typically proven to be excellent quality for wines. The season started off with bud break in early March, leading to a Spring that allowed for a perfect flowering and set for the grape clusters. Summer was also quite warm and long, leading into an early Autumn harvest season. The drought conditions led to lower yields in the vineyard, which gave a perfect concentration for juice versus skin ratio. The consistent summer weather encouraged our Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot to ripen in late September into October to finish the harvest season.
Winemaker: Jason Moulton
Vintage: 2021
Appellation: Napa Valley
Varietal Composition: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot, 1% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot
Aging: 50% new French oak and 50% neutral oak for 20 months
Alcohol: 14.8%
95 Points
Engaging and floral with its red roses, violet, and hibiscus on the nose that tease you to take a sip. Then, BOOM! Rich dark black fruit flavors of cassis, deep blackberry, mixed berry preserves, kirsch, baking spice and subtle notes of cocoa and oak that envelop your senses.
94 Points
Deep garnet in color from the ripe 2018 vintage, with open aromas of lush fruit – plum, blackberry, and cherry, and notes of cedar, vanilla, and white pepper. Across the palate it's quite seamless and silky, rich and concentrated. The fruit flavors are bold and vibrant. Mouth-filling with smooth tannins, great texture and a long delicious finish.
93 Points
Dark fruit with blueberry fruit aromas and notes of mocha and cassis. The texture is silky, rich and mouth-filling with berry pie, black tea, exotic spice and notes of chocolate fudge on the palate. Fine grain tannins lengthen the finish with dark fruit flavors mingling with just a hint of mint.
92 Points
Deep garnet core with aromas of crème de cassis, blackberry, dark chocolate and licorice mingle and swirl on the nose. The palate is equally gorgeous with extremely rich cookie, walnut, plum and cassis with a long smooth creamy vanilla finish. This one is aged to perfection and ready to show off.
Rich & Luxurious!
Beautiful ruby color and opens with aromas of bright red plum and raspberry, cassis, and a touch of mint. The tannins are soft yet structured, and complemented by vibrant acidity, with hints of clove and baking spice from the oak aging. The wine ends with a long, smooth finish and lingering intensity encouraging you to enjoy another juicy sip.
Chewy & Ripe!
Dark purplish-black with aromas of ripe black plums, bacon, blackberry jam, and black tea. Dense, chewy and ripe across the palate with a nice mid-palate texture and weight. Rich, structured, and complex, with a long evolving finish.
96 Points
Ruby-plum core with a light purple rim in the glass, with aromas of dark cherry, plum, spicy cola and black tea waft from the glass. The palate delivers all of that and then some, adding layers of fig jam, white peppercorn and baking spice. Firm juicy tannins and balanced acidity round it out.
92 Points
Lofty aromas of ripe red fruits layered with notes of crushed violets, berry cobbler, cherry and creme brulee leading into crushed blackberry with cassis, mocha, leather, mineral, and baking spice. Its all encompassing and bold mouthfeel are outstanding, as deep tannins dance around the palate, finishing with flavors of blackberry, fig, and pipe tobacco.
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