Hobel 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon “The Birdseye” Napa Valley 98 Points

FMW 98+ Points: “This is the third release  The 2021 “The Birdseye” Cabernet is sourced from a beautiful block of Phillips Clone Cabernet (budwood coming from an Oakville vineyard) from the venerable Larkmead Vineyard. The Birdseye Cabernet has a bright crimson robe and exudes notes of cedar, walnut husk, cinnamon, bark, chocolate, and plums. The bold medium to full-bodied wine offers up a lush, yet intense mouthfeel showing of its panache from start to finish.  The palate is coated with layers of bittersweet chocolate, black currant, cherries, and a hint of leather.  This is a wine that could use some time in the cellar, although a good two-hour decant will show you what this wine has to offer.”

Winery Notes: “2021 marks our second release of The Birdseye. The Calistoga sites we work with show more of a savory component in the wine and The Birdseye, hailing from Block C9 of the Larkmead Vineyard, is amplified in this respect. The 2021 Birdseye has intense spice notes and aromas of dark chocolate shavings, cherries, plums, orange rind, and a whiff of camphor. Medium weight and velvety on the palate, there is so much personality from the vintage’s lower yields in this wine that the finish is endless.”

Thomas Rivers Brown: “We always thought of Calistoga as producing red-fruited, generous Cabernets given the heat the up-valley sees.  Larkmead has changed our perception of what’s possible in this part of Napa. This wine always leads with a varietal savory-ness that helps showcase varietal and site over vintage and house style. Walnut husk, tobacco, loam, mint, and plum give this wine an old-school Napa feel, harkening back to the wines of the 70s and 80s”