Whitehall Lane
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
, Napa Valley

92 Points - Wine Spectator
92 Points - James Suckling
92 Points - Wine Enthusiast
90 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
90 Points - Wine Advocate

With aromas of blackberry, dried fig, black cherry, blackberry coulis, toasted vanilla, and a hint of cigar box.  The palate offers rich and velvety tannins, dark chocolate-covered cherries, black plum, mixed berry pie and toasted walnut.

Long and expressive with loads of flavor.  This is a classic example of perfectly balanced Napa Valley Cabernet with excellent fruit concentration.  Age-worthy, voluptuous, full-bodied with long plush tannins.

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%

Tasting Notes  PDF

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