Lail 2021 J. Daniel Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley – 100 Points

Robert Parker 100 Points: “Lail’s 2021 J. Daniel Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon blends lots from several high-end vineyards, including Heimark (Calistoga), Vine Hill Ranch (Oakville) and Steltzner (Stags Leap), plus Lail’s own Mole Hill on Howell Mountain. It’s an exciting wine, starting from the pulse-quickening aromas of raspberries and black cherries tinged with dark chocolate. In the mouth, this full-bodied beauty is richly concentrated, with a sensuous texture somewhere between silky and velvety, while the softly dusty finish shows terrific length and a spine-tingling hint of licorice. To reduce this wine to deceptively simple yet hard-to-pin-down words, it’s complex, harmonious and elegant, yet it’s enough of its place that it could only come from Napa Valley.”

TWI 99 Points: “Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 J Daniel Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon soars out of the glass with powerful notes of warm cassis, boysenberry preserves, and black cherry compote followed by suggestions of Indian spices, mint tea, and underbrush with a hint of violets. The rich, concentrated, full-bodied palate is packed with impactful black fruit preserves layers, framed by firm, ripe, grainy tannins and a lively backbone, finishing long and shimmery.”