2021 TOR 'Melanson Vineyard' Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Aromatically the wine is full of dark, perfectly ripened black fruits such as figs, cassis, and blackberries with notes of exotic spices, dried flowers, and fine black tea. On the palate, the wine is equally floral and black fruit-driven, with notes of damp forest floor, and fine tannins.
Proprietor Tor Kenward and his winemaking team, led by Jeff Ames, have been crafting world-class wines at this eponymous estate from its inception. Tor’s 30+ years in the Napa wine business have afforded him relationships with the sort of growers who have lines behind golden velvet ropes begging for their grapes. It pays to know where the valley’s greatest terroirs are in the Napa Valley. Robert Mondavi sited his winery smack in the middle of To Kalon because he, father Cesare, and brother Peter all knew how great the grapes were for Charles Krug in the 1950s. Starting in the 1970s, Andy Beckstoffer began studying and acquiring the finest terroirs in the valley, and strongly advocating for vineyard designation. And of course Tor Kenward, as an executive for Beringer, knew which sites were the most powerful contributors to Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet. Tor has an insider’s knowledge and a rolodex that newcomers simply can’t buy. This is why the wines of TOR are so important to us, and why they demand your attention.
Int'l Wine Review
The 2021 Melanson Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon may be Tor’s most impressive release from this vineyard to date. It is a rich, complex, opulent wine, bursting with aromatics of blackberries, blueberries, exotics spices, violets, graphite, mocha, gravel, and loam that all explode from the glass. On the palate this continues to showcase its Pritchard Hill terroir, boasting a sensational full body that is remarkably concentrated and packed with dense layers of ripe dark fruits which expand seamlessly through the wine resulting in a gorgeous mouthfeel. This remains remarkably well-balanced throughout, showing excellent freshness and purity which persists all the way through the opulent finish. This is an absolute gem of a wine that is already outstanding in its youth, but also shows incredible promise for a long evolution ahead. Tor’s Melanson Cabernet has been flirting with perfection for the past few vintages and it seems to be inching its way even closer with this outstanding release in 2021.
Vinous
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard is impressive. Rich, deep and expansive, the 2021 possesses tremendous intensity from start to finish. All the pedigree of this site comes through in an inky huge mountain Cabernet endowed with tons of pure character. Inky dark red/purplish fruit, lavender, spice and violet build into the sumptuous finish. What a wine.