ACCENDO NAPA VALLEY CABERNET 750ML 2021

Bart and Daphne Aurajo established Accendo Cellars after selling their Araujo Estate (now Eisele Vineyard) to the Artemis Group. In 2021, they passed the torch to second-generation partners Jaime and Greg Araujo. Grapes are sourced from Vine Hill Ranch in Oakville, Sleeping Lady Vineyard in Yountville, Eco Tone (a former Abreu property) above the Meadowood estate, and a site on Diamond Mountain formerly known as Reverie. Winemaker Nigel Kinsman says the idea is to express Napa Valley Cabernet through the lens of exceptional vineyard sites. It also allows him to experiment with other varieties to combine a seamless wine year to year. Agee 22 months in roughly 70% new French oak. A solid wine showing the dynamic structure of a vintage that produced smaller yields, deep concentration, and powerful tannins, which Kinsman has refined in this bottling, as they are intricate, linear, super-fine, and seamless. Pure red berry fruit tones leap from the glass, nuanced by sagebrush, earth, and dried spring flowers. Medium to full-bodied with compact black cherry, blackberry, and plum fruits laced with brown baking spices and a long, mineral-infused finish redolent of graphite and wet slate. An exceptional showing, balancing the intensity of the vintage with noticeable freshness. Best from 2025.

Comprising fruit from Vine Hill Ranch, M-Bar Ranch and Ecotone Vineyard, Accent's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon boasts stunning aromas of black cherries, cassis, dusty earth and dried spices. It's medium to full-bodied, texturally somewhere between silky and velvety, very fine and elegant, with a long, lingering finish. It's made in a non-blockbuster style but delivers plenty of flavor without sacrificing harmony and grace.