2021 Keever "Estate" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Grapes are sourced from the estate’s 2.8-hectare holding in Yountville. Farming is overseen by Jim Barbour, with four different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon planted on this notably cool site. Celia Welch has worked with the family since their inaugural release in 2002, and the wine is aged for 19 months in roughly 60% new French oak. The result is a positively unctuous yet poised Cabernet: expressive, with classic blackberry and blackcurrant fruit layered over tobacco and loamy earth notes, alongside a dark cocoa character. A fine thread of salty, crushed-stone minerality runs through the wine, framed by very fine-grained, velvety tannins that are beautifully, seamlessly integrated. There is excellent concentration, energy, and a sense of juiciness and brightness that feels more in line with 2023 than 2021—something Welch attributes to the naturally cool nature of the site. A Cool and composed, black-fruited, mineral-rich, and classically-styled Napa Cabernet.