Napa Valley 2021
NAPA VALLEY 2021: Brilliance in Napa
by: JOE D'ANGELO
Brilliance in Napa
The 2021 vintage in Napa Valley emerged as a beacon of excellence, following the challenges faced in 2020. Despite its own set of hurdles, the 2021 wines are exceptional. As farmers and winemakers embarked on the new growing season, they left behind the difficulties of 2020, channeling their efforts into what would become a standout year. It is often clear when a vintage is extraordinary, and 2021 was one such year. From the very first tastings of barrel samples, it was evident that this vintage was something rare and remarkable.
Growing Season
The year began with bright, sunny skies and a warm spring, but it was marked by drought due to low rainfall. Some areas experienced crop reductions of 20-60%, but this adversity had a silver lining: the berries were intensely concentrated. The dry, sunny summer set the stage for a lighter crop load, and winemakers braced for the challenge. Fortunately, the gentle, cool fall weather allowed the grapes to ripen to perfection. Harvest, which took place from September through October and extended into November for some, yielded wines of immense power, intense flavor, and impressive structure.
Quality
The 2021 wines are among the highest quality seen in Napa Valley in over a decade. While Napa has had several stellar vintages—such as 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018, and 2019—2021 stands out above them all. This vintage combines the best attributes of these great years: the tannin structure of 2013 and 2016, the freshness, purity, and approachability of 2019, the opulence of 2012, and the longevity of 2018. The result is a vintage of exceptional purity, freshness, concentration, and finesse. Collectors will undoubtedly be thrilled with the 2021 vintage, from top to bottom.
Longevity
The 2021 wines offer the best of both worlds for collectors. They are opulent and approachable now, yet they possess the potential for long-term evolution, promising to reveal wonderful nuances and become more graceful over time. Whether enjoyed now or cellared for decades, the 2021 Napa Valley vintage is one to savor.
The Results
The favorable conditions throughout the growing season and harvest allowed winemakers to capture the best of what Mother Nature provided, resulting in some of the finest wines bottled in recent history. The true measure of a great wine or vintage is how it performs in the tasting room and the scores it earns. In 2021, the wines performed exceptionally, with an unprecedented number of 98-100 point ratings. The results speak for themselves: 2021 is a legendary vintage in Napa Valley.
“2021 was pure joy for all winemakers in the Napa Valley. It healed most of the scar tissue from 2020, a harvest marred by fires and loss, and now that the wine have been a bottle for a year, the wines have exceeded our early positive expectations. Considered a drought year, the grape set was small, berry size small, portending excellent juice to skin ratio. This results in concentrated darker wines. I felt the first 6 months in bottle the wines were learning to walk. Now they are explosive, very seductive beauties. It will be one of those vintages I predict that will continue to improve over time, and in retrospective be a Napa Valley great.”
– – Tor Kenward (TOR Wines)
“2021 was a drought year with less than a third of the average rain. Additionally, cool weather in early spring delayed vine growth until April, resulting in smaller canopies. Crop load after fruit set was significantly reduced. Nevertheless, we stayed very conservative in allowing the vines to carry fewer clusters per cane. We are fortunate to have ample water available due to the large area of the Mayacamas Mountains draining through our property, and we were able to nurture the vines with our double drip irrigation lines. Warmer temperatures from June to August, but without heat spikes, allowed the fruit to remain characteristically pure. Our 70,000 linear feet of shade cloth and our misting array remained on standby, and the weather stayed uneventful until harvest. Fruit purity was remarkable and on the bluer-darker side of the spectrum. Tannins are abundant but of tiny molecular size.”
– – Claude Blankiet (Blankiet Estate)