An old vine in Oakville.
The 2021 vintage in Oakville produced some of Napa Valley’s best wines, hewn from a growing season that was even, calm, and free from the impacts of wildfires or significant heat spikes.
However, this was not a vintage devoid of some drama for Oakville growers: coming right after another dry season, Oakville received only about 35% of its average rainfall across the 2020 and 2021 vintages.
The lack of available moisture forced an early bud break in the vines and smaller canopies. While yields were 25% lower than average, and berries were smaller than usual, careful crop thinning was required due to the lighter canopies to ensure that the developing fruit didn’t get burned.
Scroll down for the Oakville 2021 Cabernets rated 98-100 points
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Oakville 2021: the top-scoring Cabernets
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{“wineId”:”86515″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86507″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86509″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86514″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86534″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86532″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86527″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86523″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86519″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86525″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86529″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86435″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86430″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86431″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86428″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86412″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86549″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86545″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86536″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86561″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86415″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86424″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
{“wineId”:”86425″,”displayCase”:”standard”,”paywall”:true}
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The post Napa Valley Cabernet 2021: Top wines from Oakville appeared first on Decanter.
