The Vice Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2021 Batch #110 The House (750ml)

 

Rated 92 Points by James Suckling

 

Aromas of ripe plums and blackberries with sweet spices and cedar.  Full-bodied with polished, chalky tannins and juicy dark berries in the middle.  Round and compact with a chocolaty finish.  Drink or hold.

 

Rated 92 Points by Decanter

 

Fresh aromatics of red fruit, dusty currant, and petrichor with ripe raspberries and fresh mint.  The palate is lively and elegant, with cut strawberries, wintergreen, and crushed stone.  There is ample structure with lovely acidity, and for the price, this wine feels like you're stealing.

 

Rated 90 Points by Wine Enthusiast

 

Rich, warm flavors and a generous texture make this wine easy to enjoy, starting with subtle balsam, leather and dark plum aromas, then showing cooked black cherries and raspberries on the palate along with subtle earthy, oaky spices.  Jim Gordon

 

The Vice Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2021

 

Batch #110 The House

 

Wine Details

Alcohol:  14.5%

Wine Type:  Red

Country:  United States

Region:  California

Appellation:  Napa

 

“Some cellar wine for a special occasion, others enjoy it with no justification.  Our Signature House Cabernet Sauvignon was sustainably crafted with minimal interference in both the vineyards and the cellar to make every day, a very special occasion.”  Malek Amrani

 

"Every day at The Vice, we put every effort at crafting the best of Napa Valley wines; and to making them accessible for the everyday occasion.  Every month of the year, we release a unique batch of our Napa Valley wines; yet “The House” Cabernet Sauvignon continues to be our most famous batch, that makes every day a very special occasion."  Malek Amrani

 

Tasting Notes

 

Fragrance of ripe dark berries, pomegranate molasses and warm cranberry sauce with shades of vanilla and hickory.  A multi-dimensional mouthfeel sporting red berry bramble and licorice on the entrance, picking up along the way loads of dark cacao and spiced almonds on the midpalate.  The lush and lengthy finish perfectly matches the aromas of the earlier nose, with waves of violet and fresh tobacco leaf.

 

Ageing:  The wine spends 12 months of aging in Oak barrels, 30% new with 50% French & 50% American. 

 

This very special wine is produced from Four Napa Valley Vineyards:

 

St Helena:  Sitting on fertile volcanic soil & located east of the AVA.  The warmest of all The House Cab vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon from this vineyard was greatly responsible for the red fruit character of this batch.

Oakville:  Also located on the eastern end of the AVA.  Volcanic soil with moderately warm micro-climate that’s influenced by daily fog.  Cabernet Sauvignon from this vineyard contributed to “The House” structure.

Coombsville:  rich volcanic soil and ash deposits from the nearby Mount George gift Cabernet Sauvignon from this vineyard dark fruit notes with power and elegance.

Los Carneros:  Our hillside vineyard is on the edge of Mount Veeder with yearlong cool temperatures rarely exceeding 85F.  The Cabernet Sauvignon from this vineyard added vibrance to ‘The House."

 

Vintage 2021

 

The 2021 vintage will be remembered for record low yields with intensely flavored, small sized berries.  Harvest started early in all our vineyards and most of it took place during the month of September.  A smooth and uneventful harvest.

 

 

The Vice Wines

 

The Vice is.

 

For the days meant to be dreamt,

 

life to be lived

 

and work, to be enjoyed.

 

The Vice was founded with the belief that the best wine is not the one with the highest price tag - it’s the wine that’s the most meticulously crafted.

 

We proudly craft wine from 15 of Napa’s 16 sub-regions, and are currently the only vintner offering such a diverse portfolio of Napa Valley under one label.

 

From the vine to the bottle, we use only the best grapes from the very best vineyards.  Our wines are crafted with minimal intervention and finished with only the minimal sulfites necessary to ensure stability in transportation and on the shelf.

 

Four our Single Vineyard Wines, each batch is crafted from single grape varietals sourced from hand selected vineyards that best express the grape varietal and the region that it comes from.

 

Our mission is to make exceptional Napa Valley wine, accessible.

 

“Celebrating your personal Vice isn’t about over-indulgence, but an appreciation for tradition & new practices alike, the process of sharing and of course, the perfect serving as only The Vice can provide.”

 

The Vice is a “family wine” like many others in the creation, but a family-made wine that aspires to finally be for an entire family.  Cross generational, embracing and refined, The Vice celebrates and aspires for diversity by crafting a select variation of styles.

 

Malek Amrani

 

Founder & Winemaker

 

Vices:  Wine, Triathlon, Pizza

 

The Vice’s exploratory, yet refined range comes from co-founder Malek Amrani’s own rich background.  A Moroccan-born world traveler, Team USA athlete and Level 3 Sommelier with an exceptional palate, Malek eventually settled in New York where for the last decade, he planted himself as the top sales professional for Moet Hennessy & Diageo.

 

Malek and his wife Torie Greenberg have since worked tirelessly to build The Vice Wine as the brand of choice for wine diehards and first-timers alike, balancing the classic quality of California vineyards with a current understanding of the consumer’s wine trend.

 

Torie Greenberg

 

Founder & Chief Brand Officer

 

Vices:  Fashion, Sleep & Rose

 

Torie is the CBO of The Vice Wine and responsible for all things visual & branding.  Hailing from a fashion & design background, studying at Parsons The New School for Design, Torie went on to design for various companies for over a decade.  As a branding expert, she has used her skills to work with Malek to create the branding & overall vision for The Vice.

 

Bruce Wayne Amrani (Dog)

 

Assistant Winemaker & Master Somm

 

Vice:  The Ball, Bones & His Ducky

 

Bruce Wayne has been instrumental in all aspects of The Vice operations.  Bruce is blessed with 300 million olfactory receptors in his nose and can smell in 3D.  His sense of smell is very useful when determining future batches.  He is often found napping during the busy work hours, in the cellar.

 

 

Rated 90 Points by Wine Enthusiast

 

Rich, warm flavors and a generous texture make this wine easy to enjoy, starting with subtle balsam, leather and dark plum aromas, then showing cooked black cherries and raspberries on the palate along with subtle earthy, oaky spices.  Jim Gordon