Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 750ml

Blackcurrants, spiced cedar and dark spices with bark undertones. Full-bodied with very fine, velvety tannins. Textured and compact with a firm, lingering finish. Tight at the end. Needs time to open.

This powerful, densely packed wine bursts with aromas of late-picked blackberries, blueberries and cassis that give way to bold black fruit and dark-chocolate flavors accented by cloves, black pepper and cedar. The tannins are full and firm, needing several years to mellow for best enjoyment.

There should be around 30,000 cases of the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasted as a final blend, taken from tank, it reveals plenty of cherries, plus a backdrop of darker, riper fruit flavors, like cassis and blueberry. There's the requisite cedar and vanilla, from aging in oak, but it's balanced. In the mouth, the wine is medium to full-bodied, silky-velvety smooth and easy to drink, plush without being creamy or overdone, with a long, mint-accented finish.

A freshly plowed humus note pokes out first, with further coaxing in the glass revealing dense black currant, fig and blackberry paste flavors. On the back end, bittersweet cocoa and espresso crema notes give this a dark, slightly rugged persona, but should smooth out with some brief cellaring. For fans of the toasty style. Best from 2025 through 2040.