Gallica Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Ranch Napa Valley 2021

We have not nearly enough of this immaculate Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, from the masterful team behind Gallica, led by one of our all-time favorite Napa winemakers, Rosemary Cakebread. She earned a degree in viticulture and enology from UC Davis in 1979 and went on to hold stints at some impressive landing pads – including a harvest in Bordeaux and time working for Inglenook, Mumm, and Spottswoode before launching her own brand, Gallica, with a keen focus on her prized variety, cabernet sauvignon. Her singular goal was to create graceful, organically farmed, single-vineyard wines that showcase the story of the land on which they were grown.

This 2021 – boasting 98 and double-97 point reviews – is a pristine showing of that very vision. Grown on the Oakville Ranch Vineyard, in the eastern hills of Napa Valley, and farmed by the famed Phil Coturri, the grapes grow on a plateau ranging 800 to 1,400 feet elevation and among red, volcanic soils with good drainage. The team said of this wine in particular, .“In our fourteen years of working with this much-coveted site, it stands amongst the finest of vintages.” 2021 provided slightly above-average warm days, but cool nights and mornings, with a dry spring and sweeping summer diurnal temperatures, providing a limited yield but massive structure and beautiful grapes.

Rounded out with 16% Cabernet Franc grown on the same site, this Cabernet Sauvignon ages for 18 months in French oak before bottling without fining or filtration in May 2023. Though in its youth, it’s an absolutely magnificent wine to sip on already, with a promise to somehow get even better as it sits over the next 10 to 20 years (and perhaps longer, if you can manage to wait). It’s rich and boisterous, yet silky, harmonious, and polished, with aromas of dried herbs, violets, and blackberries emerging from the glass. The palate continues with complex, inky-dark notes of black olive tapenade, black currants, more blackberries, some black peppercorn, cedar bark, dried lavender, and a touch of mocha, with whisper-soft tannins and a pure, layered, elegant style. There’s not much Gallica could do that we wouldn’t absolutely fawn over – but we must say, this might be one of the best wines we’ve tried from them! 

PAIRING IDEAS: It’s still summer, so grill up a skirt steak with a simple soy sauce marinade, topped with a bright chimichurri and a grilled romaine Caesar salad on the side for a fresh, yet rich and decadent meal that will allow this Oakville cab to shine.