Lot 401 | 2021 Napa Valley Proprietary Red Wine 750ml (98+ points)

Lot 401
2021 Napa Valley Proprietary Red Wine (98+ points)

Glass-staining squid ink. Pours a rich, ripe, meaty bouquet of blueberry, violets, and sage that quickly complexes with gobs of super-ripe black cherry, blackberry pie, coffee, cloves and chocolate (and I mean tons of chocolate). Deep, profound, exotic. Immediately rich, luscious, and mouth-coating on entry, but super supple and utterly seamless as the wine silkily glides across your palate with raspberry puree, leather and rich chocolatey blueberry notes that unfurl on your palate with an umami-glycerin glee. Despite the richness, this wine has a fantastically well-integrated tannic spine that sweeps the ripe fruit and chocolatey oak into a long, sustained finish. Yes, this is a massive, lush, hedonistic, palate-staining wine but it always keeps its head about it.

Overall rating: 4.642857 / 5 from 14 reviews.

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Reviews

Maybe a bad bottle.

"Popped and poured. Not good. Waited a few hours. Not good. Next day even worse. Taste of black fruit and burnt coffee. Hopefully a one off."

— Luke (1/5)

On the shortlist for best DN offering

"I grabbed a bottle of this out of the cellar accidentally instead of a bottle of Lot 429 (also a good bottle) and was blown away. I would normally allow a wine of this caliber to sit for a few years but it was a nice surprise. This is a well balanced, well made wine. I taste black fruits up front with an earthy finish. The tannins are there to give it a strong backbone that will linger after every sip. Though this wine is drinking wonderfully right now I can't wait to open another bottle in 5 years."

— TM (5/5)

Oh my...

"Broke open my first bottle of 401 a few nights ago--glad I didn't wait because it is fabulous right now with no decant--best wine I've ever purchased from DN and one of the best wines I've ever had-period. Won't repeat the superlatives of the other reviewers but suffice it to say this wine is as good as it gets. Thanks Cam"

— Bob S. (5/5)

Exceptional!

"One of the best ever wines from dN. Delicious now, but will improve with time in the cellar."

— Greg G. (5/5)

Great potential

"Amazing quality for the price. Let it sit at least a couple years"

— Juan S. (5/5)

This is one of the

"This is one of the best de negoce wines I have purchased."

— Christopher H. (5/5)

New Years Eve Stunner!

"Opened a bottle for New Years Eve. Definitely the best bottle I had from De Négoce all year! Make sure to let it decant for a few hours."

— Christian (5/5)

Might be the best

"This young wine has been open for 24 hours right now. Wow, stunning stuff. This is Christmas dinner worthy wine. I get wild blueberries, fennel seed, mild green pepper, exotic chocolate. So smooth with sneaky tannins. You can tell this is very well made and will improve with age. This wine excites me!"

— John D. (5/5)

Very tasty pnp. Will hold

"Very tasty pnp. Will hold off opening other bottles as I believe this can sit for quite some time…unless next Tuesday comes around. Enjoy the wine, that’s why it was made."

— martin d. (5/5)

One a kind blend!

"Fanstastic!"

— Gray G. (5/5)

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