AXR Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Drink it now or cellar for up to 15 years. It is recommended to decant it for an hour. Located in St. Helena, Napa Valley, AXR Winery was founded by four friends to produce high-quality wines that best express the diversity of California's terroirs. The winery name is a metaphorical homage to the roots of viticulture: AxR is an acronym for Aramond x Rupestris, a widespread post-phylloxera rootstock. Renowned winemaker Jean Hoefliger manages the operations in the vineyards and the cellar. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are selected and hand-picked from the Bennett, Furtado, and Terra Solis vineyards. Fermentation takes place half in barrels and half in stainless steel, and the finished wine then ages for over a year and a half in French oak barrels, 80% of which are new. The Cabernet Sauvignon AXR is a powerful wine with a broad and exuberant aromatic profile revealing notes of blackberry, ripe plum, and blackcurrant, bitter cocoa, and hazelnuts, with a subtle undertone of spice, cedarwood, and thyme. On the palate, it is complex, smooth, and focused. It is rich and generous without being opulent. It retains a lively freshness that balances the tasting experience well. It has firm yet ripe tannins and a medium-full body. The long finish evokes spicy and cigar notes. Keep it in the cellar for a few years or enjoy it now with a filet mignon.