Rubicon 2021

Intense, powerful and concentrated, full of dark brambled fruits, with cocoa bean, smoked almonds, espresso, a series of tiny pulses of crushed rock minerality. Captures the power of Rutherford without sacrificing finesse or pleasure, just a gorgeous wine that is so easy to fall in love with. The muscular tannins need a few year before fully opening, and could be held back in bottle for a decade or more, or ensure a good long carafe. Todd Devincenzi director, Philippe Bascaules winemaker.

Score: 98

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2026-2045 29 August 2024

A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Merlot, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon looks particularly promising. Delicate nuances of dried sage and thyme play among the ripe cherries, all framed by cedar and vanilla. It's medium to full-bodied and silky-textured, with a tart, mouthwatering finish and what should be ample longevity. The new fermentation cave at Inglenook—tunneled into the hillside behind the historic building—contains 120 tanks, ranging in size from one-half ton to 150 tons in capacity. The goal is to ferment in sizes appropriate to each pick. Winemaking consultant Chris Phelps pointed out a couple of other new updates: use of an optical sorter since 2019 and going to barrel sweet in 2021. In the fire-plagued 2020 vintage, Phelps says the primary mark left on the wines was due to the vintage's several heat spikes. "Nothing got bottled that was picked after September 27," he said. Yields were down substantially compared to 2019, with volumes reduced to less than one-third for Rubicon and just a bit more than that for the Cabernet Sauvignon. Quality is good, but the smart money is waiting for the 2021s, which look to have reached another level of excellence.

Score: 95 - 97

Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2025-2040 08 June 2023