2021 Dana Estates "Vaso" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, USA

ABOUT THIS WINE

The 2021 season started off with a dry, cold winter season. We experience a return to drought conditions with only a quarter of the normal winter season rain. The cool spring pushed budbreak into the middle of April. Warm sunny weather finally arrived at the end of April and continued into May allowing the vine growth to steadily progress. The dry conditions gave us balanced vines by limiting shoot growth and setting a small crop. The rest of the growing season gave us perfect weather with only a few days over 100 degrees F. Ripening progressed steadily and uniformly. The small crop, dry weather, and abundant sunny days set things up for an early start to harvest. The dry, low yielding vintage produced wines with great intensity of flavor, energy, and balanced tannins. A stunning vintage.

The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were hand harvested and sorted before destemming. After, we used a combination of optical and hand sorting of the berries before gravity filling the fermentation tanks. We used various fermentation vessels including oak upright, concrete, and stainless-steel tanks, as well as single barrel fermentations. After undergoing natural fermentation, the free run juice is drained directly off skins to barrel for native malolactic fermentation and aging until blending in early Spring. After blending and racking the wines age undisturbed until bottling.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

DANA’s Director of Winemaking, Maura Johnson, guides the slow journey from vineyard to bottle in collaboration with renowned winemaking consultant Philippe Melka, who has worked with DANA Estates since the inaugural vintage. Together, DANA’s winemakers bring philosophy into action — working always to enhance the natural essence of every site. Rather than imposing a particular characteristic or house style, our winemaking strives to highlight the purity of the land itself.

All of DANA Estates’ vineyards are farmed organically for optimal vine health. After meticulously timed harvest dates that capture every cluster at its peak, our winemaking team vinifies the free run juice from each site according to its character.