Napanook 2021 (750ml)
Product price
Description
Napanook is Dominus Estate's Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley, a wine that sits between the winery's flagship bottling and the broader market. The 2021 vintage is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (92%), Cabernet Franc (6%), and Petit Verdot (2%), aged in 20% new French oak.
The nose opens with red currants, spicebush, tobacco leaf, and wildflowers alongside dusty mineral notes. On the palate, the wine shows a compact, medium- to full-bodied frame with firm acidity that keeps everything fresh and lifted. The tannins are satiny and laced with mocha, while red berry fruit mingles with salty minerals and hints of black tea on the finish. Despite declaring 15% alcohol, there's no heat; instead, the wine presents itself as vivacious and light on its feet, full of energy and tension. The overall effect is lush and savory, a wine that balances richness with mineral precision and complexity.
Expert Reviews
A delicately aromatic nose of red currants, spicebush, tobacco leaf, dusty minerals, and wildflowers. The palate is compact with a wonderful medium- to full-bodied mouthfeel and plenty of energy and drive. The acidity is firm and inviting, forming a perfect backbone that preserves the wine's freshness. The tannins are satiny with a mocha-scented quality, and the red berry fruit is laced with salty minerals. The wine is impressively tension-filled, vivacious and yet light on its feet. A terrific effort.
Certainly the best Napanook bottling I can recall, the 2021 Napanook is a 3,000-case blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Boasting harmonious aromas of raspberries, red and black cherries, cinnamon, clove and dusty earth notes, this full-bodied wine tips the scales at a declared 15% alcohol, yet it shows no detectable heat. It is full-bodied, intense, rich and velvety, with hints of black tea on the long finish. Matured in 20% new French oak, it stands out for its lush mouthfeel and savory complexity.
The 2021 Napanook, tasted from barrel, is fabulous. Rich, deep and super-expressive, the 2021 captures all the best the vintage has to offer. A whole range of floral and savory overtones lend nuance. This vibrant, intensely mineral Cabernet Sauvignon is an absolute delight to taste today, and an especially fine edition of Napanook, endowed with big fruit and equally potent tannins.