The 2021 Vintage: Brilliance in Napa and Sonoma
After traveling around the world and talking to one producer after another, you can tell the difference between a vintage that needs to be explained, and one that speaks for itself. The 2021s in both Sonoma and Napa seem to be the latter. During my trip with the Key Accounts team this past month, it was all too easy to tell, whether with a wry smile, simple relief, or unbridled enthusiasm from the winemakers. And it is with good reason–this goldilocks vintage followed one of the most disastrous that the region had ever experienced. Most of the producers we tasted with are not going to release a single 2020, a decision that would be near catastrophic in any other industry, and still might be for some in the wine world. While this makes the successes of 2021 all that much sweeter, it is still a tremendous vintage on its own standing, one that will be discussed for years to come. Our trip gave us a lot to talk about, and it was clear that 2021 provided all the raw materials for some very memorable and often revelatory wines.
Starting our visit in the fog-riddled hills of the West Sonoma Coast at the Coastland Vineyard, Ross Cobb was not shy about the promise of his 2021s. That said, his wines are the kind of bottles that enamor so many different palates that everyone found something to love in what we tasted. This probably comes from the genuine enthusiasm that Cobb shows for the vineyards that make his many distinctive bottlings. Each one tells a story of place and season transparently, with balance and nuance to spare. Such was the case with a head-turning 2021 Rice-Spivak Pinot Noir that had everyone buzzing, a wine that beautifully displayed texture, fruit, and structure–so compelling at this early stage, but a long-distance runner for sure.
While Cobb felt like a vast exploration of the region and its many nuances, a trip to Occidental with Catherine Kistler felt like a study in perfecting an expression of a very specific place and style. And when you consider the legacy of that style and the Kistler name, it is already being built on a foundation that has few rivals. Many would argue that under the Occidental label they are taking things to another level altogether–something that has been echoed by our experience of the best-selling 2021 Occidental "Freestone-Occidental" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $64.95 98WA 95VN. A blend of all the elusive and allocated single-vineyard expressions, it is a great tribute to the heights that you can find in 2021 at all levels. We tasted the soon-to-be-released single-vineyard Pinots themselves, and they will certainly go down as iconic examples, even in this storied portfolio.
The next day brought us to Dunn, first thing in the morning, which turned out to be the perfect time to taste these wines. The down-to-earth approach of the team at Dunn is endlessly refreshing and inspiring, whether it is the way they talk with depth and humor about their process, or the way the wines always over-deliver and tell a story of the vintage and an undeniably special place. This was perfectly expressed in the 2018 Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon $169.95 97VN 96WS 95WA and their upcoming 2019 rendition of the same bottling, two wines that speak beautifully to their vintages–the 2018 being broad and expansive, while the 2019 is more immediate and explosive. But a sneak peak of a special barrel of 2021 was one of the best young samples I’ve ever tried, and the way jaws dropped around the room, I know I wasn’t alone in that opinion. We left enamored with the current releases, but couldn’t help but think that 2021 will be another in a long line of epic wines from the team at Dunn.
Our last stop was with Realm, one of the most intriguing, progressive, and ever-evolving projects in Napa. It has been fascinating to see their evolution over the years, launching one of the region’s top collectible values in The Bard, but also operating in the space of the First Growths with their best-of-the-vintage The Absurd. Hosting us at a newly rebuilt facility at the Houyi vineyard up on Pritchard Hill (next to Colgin) They showed all 2021s–wines they should absolutely be proud of, and renditions of their famous bottlings that will age at a glacial pace in the cellars of those lucky to secure a few bottles. But you could also tell that there is a bit of a vacuum with the 2020 vintage missing, especially at an estate that has such grand ambitions. That said, if these 2021s are any indication, the best is yet to come.
All this being said, one of the traps of championing a vintage like 2021 is that sometimes nothing else will do. We’ve seen this in many regions where great wines from less famous vintages get overlooked, and folks miss out on some absolutely remarkable wines that show the producer’s deft hand over the challenges of the vintage. It is often said that to really know a property, look to see how they do in a tough vintage, not in a year where anybody can make a good wine. But that’s one of the great parts of our trip this year–although we got to revel in these 2021s, we can always confidently go back to the Dunns and Cobbs of the world and know that anything bottled is going to be full of character and a transparent expression of a specific place.
Still, it is hard not to get excited when a 2021 comes along, and as we enter the heart of the release schedule for these wines, it would be a disservice not to give them the excitement they deserve.
- Ryan Moses, Manager, Marketing, Key Accounts, and Retail Analytics