Despite a second consecutive year of drought, and nerve-racking memories of some similar challenges in 2015, the 2021 Napa Valley growing season produced what are proving to be great wines. Yields were tiny for the most part, because many vineyards just didn’t have the water resources to develop the full canopy necessary to ripen a typical load of fruit. You really had to be paying attention to get fruit to the finish line in good shape, but the reward was excellent quality across the board: small berries teeming with tannin and flavor.
The lack of groundwater to mitigate irrigation was naturally a chief concern. Our solution was not to keep dumping water on the vineyards, but to make fairly merciless thinning passes. Thankfully, farming on the Mt. Veeder Estate has always been meticulous with a philosophy of “Quality, Quality, Quality,” so no one balks at putting half the fruit on the ground if that’s what is called for. It’s a process of following a vine-by-vine directive.
In 2021 we produced only eighteen barrels from our Cabernet Sauvignon blocks on the Mt. Veeder Estate Vineyard, which was not solely due to the drought, but also about striving for vine balance. Clones 685 and 15 continue to shine in this vineyard; they make up the majority of the blend, with a single barrel of Clone 30 in the mix. We decided not to blend with Clone 169 as the others have clearly pulled ahead, compounding our excitement about what’s possible on Mt. Veeder.
Winemaking & Tasting Notes
The 2021 Pulido~Walker Mt. Veeder Estate Cabernet Sauvignon favors the 2018 vintage slightly more than the 2019. Driven more by structure than fruit, the first impression is of tannin. Just as the growing season kept us on our toes, these 2021 wines demanded attention in the cellar. We were careful about how much skin contact time we allowed in tank to keep the tannins from becoming overpowering.
As we’ve come to expect, this wine is more black-fruited, with blue and purple elements but no red fruit qualities to speak of. Its structure and finesse make this a Cabernet Sauvignon to lay down for a few years while the tannins smooth out. We think five years should be plenty to soften everything and reward the patient with a seamless, nuanced and savory Pulido~Walker Mt. Veeder Estate offering that may be our finest yet.
Thomas Rivers Brown, Winemaker
Data
Estate Grown
Varietal: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Clones: 15, 30, and 685
Aging: 20 months in 100% French oak (85% new barrels)
Barrel Coopers: Baron, Darnajou, La Grange, and Taransaud
Alcohol: 14.6% by vol.
Titratable Acidity: 5.6 g/L
pH: 3.78
Bottling Date: May 2023
Production: 396 Cases
Site
Appellation: Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley
Acreage: 15 acres at the southern end of Mt. Veeder
Elevation: 650–960 ft.
Soil Composition: Weathered sandstone, fractured shale, and clay loam
Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon (75%) and Chardonnay (25%)
