The color of the 2021 La Place is deepest Ruby with a black core. On the nose, the aromatics sail from the glass with blackberry pie, raspberry coulis, black currant, sage, madagascar vanilla, and chocolate-chip cookie dough. As always, the palate is richly layered but ultra-fine, with powerful flavors echoing the nose, but adding a profound depth. No doubt helped by the tiny yields of 2021, the finish is a huge, buildling, and luminous, with the finest of Cab tannins keeping the flavors going for a long, long time.
The 2021 La Place Cabernet Sauvignon, with 2% Petit Verdot in the blend, is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a fair bit of swirling to unlock notes of blackcurrant preserves, dark chocolate, and menthol opening out to hints of graphite, violets, and anise. The full-bodied palate delivers rich, impactful black fruit and spice layers, framed by firm, grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long with a minty kick.
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon La Place Vineyard (there's 2% Petit Verdot in the blend) has classic Calistoga aromatics with its savory red and blue fruits, dried herbs, and tons of minerality. It's medium to full-bodied on the palate, has ultra-fine tannins, beautiful overall purity, and a great finish. Brought up for 21 months in new barrels (it's fermented in puncheons), this smoking good Cabernet Sauvignon will benefit from just a few years of bottle age and keep for 15+.
