Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Blackberry, blackcurrant and mint with some sage and crushed-stone undertones. Full-bodied with chewy tannins that are in-check and nicely polished. Smoke, toasted oak and bark at the end, complementing the fresh yet ripe fruit. Drink after 2024.

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour is outrageously beautiful. A wine of statuesque build and class, the 2021 represents another major step forward for BY. Black cherry, plum, spice, new leather, menthol, mocha and gravel soar from the glass. This is an especially refined vintage for this flagship wine. Here, too, there is plenty of tannin, but it is not anywhere near as perceptible as it was in the past. Shorter macerations and gentler overall winemaking, including fewer lots vinified in barrel, have elevated the Georges meaningfully.

Lastly, the flagship 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Georges De Latour Private Reserve is in the same ballpark as the 2019 and is an incredibly elegant yet concentrated 2021 that does everything right. Purple-hued, with ample cassis, wild sage, graphite, and darker chocolate-like aromatics, it picks up a Graves-like gravelly earth character with air and is full-bodied, has ripe, polished tannins, beautiful overall balance, and a great finish. As with many of the top 2021s, it s a touch reserved and closed and needs 4-5 years of bottle age, but will drink well for 30 years.

This is packed with dark, winey flavors of black currant and blackberry paste underscored with alder, sweet tobacco, warm paving stone and black licorice notes, while a violet accent fills the background. The polished finish makes this accessible now, but there's plenty of life ahead. Drink now through 2042. 7,289 cases made.

Deep and brooding with concentration and velvety flavors. A subtle floral lift spins through flavors of sweet kitchen spices, black fruits, and savory length. A sprinkle of dried spices and tobacco add additional depth. Powdery fine tannins and a lengthy finish complete a Cabernet ready to drink now with the potential to develop for years in bottle.

BV's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour is smooth, melded, cedary and complete. Cherries and gentle earth notes mark the nose, framed by new French oak (95%), while the palate is medium to full-bodied, tannic yet silky, with a lingering, cigar box finish.