2021 Cain Vineyard and Winery "Cain Five", Napa Valley, California, USA

ABOUT THIS WINE

If the Cain Five is utterly unique, distinctive in both aroma and taste, this can only reflect the Cain Vineyard, which gives birth to this wine and is both spectacular and idiosyncratic. Composed of the five classic varieties —Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot—Cain Five epitomizes the benefits of blending to achieve a complex wine. 

Specifially, the 2021 Cain Five features a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 10% Malbec, and 4% Petit Verdot. Grapes are typically hand-picked, destemmed, and fermented spontaneously using indigenous yeasts. Maceration lasts anywhere from ten days to five weeks. The wine matures for about 20 to 21 months in French oak barrels. The winemakers do minimal fining, utilize native yeasts, and do not filter the wine, giving it an authentic, Old-World, and slightly rustic expression

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Cain Vineyard & Winery is one of Napa Valley’s most distinctive mountain estates, best known for producing restrained, age-worthy Bordeaux-style blends that emphasize balance, freshness, and terroir over sheer power. Located high in the Spring Mountain District, Cain helped define a more classical, Old World-inspired expression of Napa Cabernet blends.

Founded in 1980 by Jerry and Joyce Cain, the estate was developed on the historic McCormick Ranch, a rugged 550-acre property straddling the Mayacamas Mountains between Napa and Sonoma. Their vision centered around the classic Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

The estate vineyard sits between roughly 1,400 and 2,100 feet in elevation on thin sedimentary soils rich in clay, sandstone, and shale. Unlike many volcanic Napa mountain sites, Cain’s soils and cooler exposures produce wines with more herbal, floral, savory, and earthy character.