I’m in for 3. Debating on requesting a mag. I have a ‘19 mag….but I rarely have an excuse to pop mags, so not sure if I want to request one.
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How are the 19’s drinking at the moment? I bought 3 but haven’t tried them yet, was trying to forget about them for a while. I know this should be a no-brainer purchase, but it’s at the very top of my budget and i have very limited cellar space (~150 bottle wine fridge packed to the gills). Is it an absolute waste to pop one now to check in prior to purchasing more considering this will be one of my top wines in my cellar and saved for “special occasions”? I know i need more cellar space, but i have too many hobbies and am out of room. Any insights are appreciated.
I popped a 19 a couple of weeks ago and found it exceptional. I did double decant first thing in the morning and allowed it to slow-ox in bottle all day before serving that evening. This worked perfectly. Absolutely no shame in popping one now with proper treatment. I wanted to see what these were all about before I made my decision on the 2021 vintage release. I passed on the 20’ but after opening a bottle of the 19’, I am a buyer moving forward.
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I’m with Cody. I thought it was beautiful but give it a lot of time in the decanter.
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Thought I would chime in here with some additional info on the '21. Jack was in Dallas in the Fall of last year and hosted a dinner where we had the chance to try the 19/20/21 side by side. I gather it was the first vertical tasting they had done of the first 3 vintages.
A quick note on the '20. Production was up in '20 because they were the beneficiary’s of some pre-fire harvested Cabernet from an Oakville vineyard that’s on the west side of 29 back towards the foothills. 
That said they will most likely not be able to source that fruit again, which makes the '20 very unique and somewhat special. The '20 was also 100% cab which is not going to be their standard going forward.
I have to say that the '20 was exceptionally good, and I would recommend asking if there is anymore, as you will not be disappointed.
Moving on the '21, this one represents the best example of what 001 is going to look like going forward. One of the benefits is that Graeme is now able to get the correct barrel rotation into place, as this is not 100% new oak, but rather around 2/3rds new oak.
What’s great about this wine for those who know, is that they are essentially using the exact same blocks/rows in the Ecotone vineyard which most of know from Abreu’s Thorevilos wine. While the vineyard footprint isn’t exactly the same as the Thorevilos, I am told it contains all of the primary blocks of Cab and Cab Franc and the Petit Verdot that made the Thorevilos what it was. If memory serves, it’s about 80%+ cab with a heavy dose of the cab franc a touch of the petit verdot.
Something else I remember is that because of the vineyards slight elevation, they had a very late harvest in '21 and I don’t think they picked until the end of Sept. The exceptionally long hang time is something that has been missing from some of the great napa wines most of the last decade.
The wine itself is absolutely massive. What I recall most is that the cab franc was muted on the nose by the cabernet, but some blue fruit started to peak out towards the end of the glass. Had a lot of structure and while not the most approachable wine (I think the alcohol was less than 15%) it is definitely a more approachable profile than the Abreu wines at an early stage. For those looking to try it now, it is certainly in the territory of needing a good 24 hour double decant. That said, this wine is built for the long haul and I would imagine probably needs about 5-7 years to start enter that very very early drinking window, but this has the structure to last for 30-40 years easily, and I base that in experience with other great cabs that have a longer track record that I have tried young and again at age.
Last think, while they had extra wine in the '20 vintage because of the extra fruit, they are only around 250 cases for this vintage. I think the plan is to slowly add to that production over time, but not by much. The point is that there really is not that much of this to go around. I know that I’m in for as much as I can get! Oh, and the price point is still mid to low 200’s which is almost unheard of for a wine of this caliber.
Obviously I’m a fan and bit biased, but I don’t see how you can go wrong here!
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I’ve had the 2021 of this three times now, most recently… today.
It’s definitely the best of the three releases of 001. It’s the ripest (but not at all too ripe), with black fruit and hints of violet and baker’s yeast with a slight spice kick on the end. Very good mouthfeel volume but only at the edge of full-bodied. Very deep-purple color.
Despite all this, I have no problem drinking it now with a whole day decanted but in reality could use a few years in the cellar.
I think this is the wine they want to make moving forward. If you bought the 2019 and liked it, you will want this one.
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Damn Roy, I’m trying to let my credit card recover!
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With the chances of ever getting a shot at MacDonald (waitlist!) very improbable this will have to be my Graeme substitute.
Ordered the 2019 but yet to sample. Will pull one just prior to offer. Plan will be to go max offer for the 2021.
Thanks for your input Roy
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