OVID Proprietary Red 2021
(Napa Valley, California) - [JD 100] [DM 100] [JS 98] [VM 97] [WA 95+]

About the Winery:
OVID Napa Valley is a singular, dynamic and continuous experiment in terroir, nestled at an elevation of 1,500 feet on a secluded mountaintop in the western reaches of Pritchard Hill. Here, iron-rich volcanic soils, abundant sunshine and chaparral flora alchemize to reveal focused, long-lived wines that celebrate their source.

Our four estate wines are sourced from our organically farmed fifteen acre vineyard, planted in one-acre blocks with rootstock and clonal combinations of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Syrah. Each year, we also release a small selection of Experiment wines – never to be made again – yet foundational to understanding the soul and ethos of our estate wines.

About this vintage:

The 2021 OVID Napa Valley oers notes of fresh mulberry, kola nut, blackberry, black cherry, flint and bay laurel that are striking in purity. Broad and enveloping, this wine  delivers undeniably delicious power and will continue to tell its vivid, seamless story for decades to come.

Ratings & Reviews

100 Points - Decanter Magazine

“Each year, the blend of Ovid wines varies depending on the vintage. Winemaker Austin Peterson prefers not to pre-plan the blend, instead approaching each vintage with a fresh perspective. Often, the wine needs more Cabernet Sauvignon to qualify as a Napa Valley varietal wine. The vineyard features an abundance of Clone 4, planted across four of its 17 blocks within the 6ha site. This clone contributes a distinctive savoury character and polish, evident in the 2021 vintage with its flinty minerals, green tobacco, and mulberry fruit, reminiscent of Napa Cabernets from the 1970s. Comprising 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, the wine is aged 20 months in 66% new French oak. It is full-bodied with ripe, chewy tannins that assert themselves on entry but gradually soften, revealing a beautifully layered wine with mineral-infused mulberry fruit and green tobacco aromas. The wine exhibits notable tension, supported by a pH level 3.78, ensuring vibrancy and freshness. It is a pedigreed wine characterised by balance, intensity, and complexity.” – Jonathan Cristaldi (May 2024)

100 Points - Jeb Dunnuck

“Moving to the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, it's 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet
Franc, and the balanced 7% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot. Insanely pure, it offers kaleidoscope-like aromatics of black and blue fruits, spring flowers, chocolate, burning embers, and bouquet garni. Full-bodied on the palate, it doesn't get any better, and it's concentrated, has building tannins, and a monster of a finish. Offering more generosity and opulence than just about every other wine in the vintage, this is a killer bottle of wine! It will make your eyes roll back in your head today, yet will ideally be given 4-5 years of bottle age and will evolve gracefully over the following two decades. Bravo!” (Dec 2023)

98 Points - James Suckling

“The purity of fruit and class to this wine is really impressive, with roses, lavender. violets
and blackcurrants and a sweet lift. Medium- to full-bodied with very long and racy tannins. They go from the front of your palate to the back. This is so beautiful and graceful yet structured. Give this at least four to five years. Best after 2028.” (Jan 2024)

97 Points - Vinous Media

“The 2021 Ovid is another exceptional wine in this range. Dark shades of Cabernet
Sauvignon fruit open first, followed by hints of leather, lavender, spice, tobacco and incense that lend complexity. Deep and structured, with notably finessed tannins for a young mountain wine, the 2021 delivers the goods. This is quite impressive in the early going, especially with time in the glass.” – Antonio Galloni (Dec 2023)

95+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

“Like the 2021 Hexameter, Ovid's 2021 Red Wine combines red and black fruits, bright acids and ripe tannins. Hints of redcurrants accent black cherries, joined by mocha and baking spices on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied and framed by dusty tannins, finishing long and fresh. If I've been conservative in my rating of this blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, it's just because it comes across as a bit edgy, in need of several years of cellaring for it to show its best.” - Joe Czerwinski (Oct 2024)