Burgess Cellars "Promiscua" Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
(Napa Valley, California) - [JS 96] [DM 94] [WS 93]

About this winery:
Burgess Cellars has been family owned and creating wines with mountain distinction since 1972 on Howell Mountain in Napa Valley. When founder Tom Burgess purchased the 1870’s era winery in 1972, he established himself as a pioneer of mountain side wineries. Today, the second generation is building on Tom’s legacy. Brothers Steven Burgess and James Burgess took over as President and Vineyard Manager respectively. In 2013, Winemaker Kelly Woods, a UC Davis graduate, completed the new team, and together the trio has fined-tuned the vineyards and cellar to highlight mountain grapes.

The new direction of the estate is taking Burgess Cellars to the pinnacle of Napa Valley wine quality. At almost 1000 feet, far over the valley floor, Burgess produces wines from two estate hillside vineyards, Winery Ranch Vineyard and Haymaker Vineyard. Their hillside grapes tend to be smaller, with more concentrated flavors and tannins, varietal intensity and excellent aging properties.

About this wine:
A great year for reds, the 2021 growing season experienced little to no extreme weather events. The fruit ripened at a steady, methodical pace and all fruit was brought in before the end of September.

A wine that is built to age, this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from our single vineyards and possesses an energetic verve. One of winemaker Meghan Zobeck's favorites, this aromatic wine has delicate yet complex flavors that lean slightly floral and notes of freshly cut cedar, red cassis, red plum, and Luxardo cherry.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aged 22 months in 20% new French oak, 80% in neutral French oak
Alcohol 13.5%

Ratings & Reviews:

96 Points - James Suckling:
"Such beautiful black currant, ink, iron, bark, and terra-cotta aromas follow through to a medium body, with firm tannins that are chewy too. Rose petal. Candied cherry. Fresh and fine at the end. This transparency is impressive. Almost pinot-like in its personality. All about the aromatics. Drink or hold."  (Nov 2023)

94 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"This Promiscua bottling is from Sorenson, Quartz Creek, and Clos Abeille. It has the grip of Sorenson and the prettiness of Quartz Creek. This is the highest-volume wine and will be most readily available in the market, with a production of around 1,500 cases. Medium-bodied with alluring bright fruit and mineral aromatics, leading to candied bing cherry fruit that grabs ahold of the mid-palate and lingers, nuanced by rose petal florals, plums, blackberry, and crunchy pomegranate seeds. The super long finish builds in more cedarwood and toffee, all elegant and balanced, never sweet or cloying. Loads of impressionable tannins resolve with mouthwatering acidity. It's an enigma of a wine best enjoyed over a long meal. (Drink between 2024-2045)." - Jonathan Cristaldi (May 2024)

93 Points - Wine Spectator:
"An enticing, delicious version, showing ripe, juicy boysenberry and blackberry paste flavors laced with anise and apple wood notes. Offers lively grip, while pretty violet and iris accents keep this balanced and fresh throughout. Drink now through 2038. Tasted twice, with consistent notes." - James Molesworth (Jul 2024)

91 Points - Wine Advocate:
"Named for an ancient Roman style of biodiversity, in which olives, grapes and grains were all grown together, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Promiscua blends fruit from the original Burgess site (now called the Sorenson Vineyard) with fruit from the Quartz Creek Vineyard in Oak Knoll. All Cabernet Sauvignon and aged in just 20% new French oak, there's nevertheless a hint of charred toast on the nose, accenting notes of mint and mixed red and black cherries. Medium-bodied, it's firmly built, yet the tannins are silky, leaving a dusty note behind on the finish." - Joe Czerwinski (Jul 2024)