By Sequoia Grove Winery
2021 Rutherford Bench Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Mission
At Sequoia Grove, we believe that winemaking is storytelling. Our goal is to craft wines that tell the story of the vineyard, the varietal, and the vintage. We believe winemaking starts in the vineyard, and each year we invest in our vineyards so the wines we make express the terroir of each site year after year.

History
Our present-day winery and its 24-acre estate vineyard were part of the original Rancho Caymus land grant given in 1836 to George Yount, the area's first European-American pioneer. Over the years, the property changed hands until it was purchased in 1978 by James and Barbara Allen. The following year, the duo opened a winery in a 100-year-old barn beneath a grove of Sequoia trees, and so Sequoia Grove was born.

Wine Details
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon
AVA: Rutherford
Vintage: 2021

Tasting Notes
This Cabernet opens with dark aromas of wild forest berries, blackberry, cardamom, and crushed granite with a hint of anise and sweet fresh tobacco. The palate is complex with flavors of juicy pomegranate, black cherry juice, savory herbs, and powdery dark chocolate. This is a rich, full-bodied Cabernet with a long, dense finish and supple, silky tannins. Drink now or age 10 or more years.
[Information provided by Sequoia Grove Winery]

Wine: 2021 Sequoia Grove Rutherford Bench Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Score/Rating: 94+
Suggested Drinking Window: 2024 - 2042
Review Date: 01/10/2024
Reviewed By: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Tasting Notes: The 2021 Rutherford Bench Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon [...] is deep garnet-purple in color. It rocks up with ready-to-go notes of blackberry pie, warm cassis, and redcurrant jelly giving way to nuances of violets and fertile loam. The full-bodied palate is packed with juicy black fruit flavors, supported by velvety tannins and compelling freshness, finishing long with a mineral lift.

Wine: Sequoia Grove, Winemaker Series Rutherford Bench Reserve, Napa Valley, California, USA 2021
Score/Rating: 94
Suggested Drinking Window: 2024 - 2038
Review Date: 08/01/2024
Reviewed By: Jonathan Cristaldi
Tasting Notes: The Sequoia Grove Winemaker Series red allows the winemaker to craft a Bordeaux-styled blend. I loved this wine in the lineup I tasted with Jesse Fox in August 2024. It's charming and elegant, with a beautiful structure from focused tannins and a silky lulling softness of dark berry fruit with black and blue undertones. Powdery tannins mould the mid-palate, while a lifted brightness comes from traces of crunchy dried bay laurel leaves and sagebrush. Winemaker Jesse Fox joined Sequoia Grove in 2022 after a long stint at Amici Cellars and, before that, lengthy stays at Ram's Gate Winery and Harlan's Napa Valley Reserve. Fox blended all 160 lots of the 2021 red wines. He did more racking and blended earlier than was typical of his predecessor. He believes adequate racking is the best natural filtration process, so the wines do not go through any additional filtering.

Wine: Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Rutherford Bench Reserve Winemaker Series 2021
Score/Rating: 93
Suggested Drinking Window: Drink now through 2037
Review Date: 07/31/2024
Reviewed By: James Molesworth
Tasting Notes: Broad and rich, with a strong loam backdrop, this lets waves of cassis and steeped blackberry fruit roll through slowly, with singed cedar and sage accents running along the edges. Best from 2025 through 2037.

Wine: 2021 Sequoia Grove Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Bench Reserve
Score/Rating: 93
Suggested Drinking Window: 2023 - 2033
Review Date: 12/26/2023
Reviewed By: Jeb Dunnuck
Tasting Notes: The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Bench Reserve is terrific, with beautiful cassis and assorted darker fruits as well as chocolaty oak, graphite, and some sage and floral nuances. It's up-front, medium to full-bodied, sweetly fruited, and has remarkable purity. Drink this pleasure-bent, sexy 2021 over the coming decade or more.

Wine: 2021 Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Bench Reserve
Score/Rating: 92
Suggested Drinking Window: 2024 - 2035
Review Date: 12/29/2023
Reviewed By: Joe Czerwinski
Tasting Notes: Blended from the winery's two Rutherford estate vineyards, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Bench Reserve is [...] all aged in 100% new French oak. Despite all that new oak, the fruit comes through loud and clear, offering up scents of mixed cherries, even hints of raspberry, mint and dusty earth. Full-bodied and velvety in feel, it finishes mouthwatering and fresh.

Wine: Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Rutherford Bench Reserve 2021
Score/Rating: 92
Review Date: 09/19/2023
Reviewed By: James Suckling
Tasting Notes: A medium- to full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with notes of mulberries, currants, roasted meat, tar and stones. Firm tannins with a chewy character. It’s serious and well-driven with discreet fruit at the center. Compact finish. [...]

Wine: Sequoia Grove 2021 Winemaker Series Rutherford Bench Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Rutherford)
Score/Rating: 91
Suggested Drinking Window: Best from 2028
Review Date: 04/01/2024
Reviewed By: Jim Gordon
Tasting Notes: Potent oak char, cedar and clove aromas yield to mouthfilling, high-octane dried fruit flavors, toasted coconut and smoked beef. To say the least, it's a brawny, tannic, tooth-staining wine with maximum oak character. Best from 2028.