Vintage Retrospective: The 2001 Napa Valley Cabernets

BY STEPHEN TANZER | JUNE 23, 2020

Sandwiched between three cool years and three growing seasons affected by late-season heat spikes, 2001 has proven to be a Napa Valley classic for Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends. The better wines are in fine form today.

By coincidence, the two Napa Valley Cabernet vintages that I re-evaluated in depth this spring are two of my all-time favorites: 2010 and, in this article, 2001. Both deliver glorious Napa Valley fruit ripeness leavened by an element of Old World restraint. Both were characterized early on by suave, integrated tannins, and fully ripe—even sometimes liqueur-like—fruit, but neither was a blockbuster, and both sets of wines showcased their balance from the start. Although many ‘01s went through a reticent stage at some point between about ages 4 and 15, today virtually all of them have embarked on their windows of peak drinkability, and they are showing beautifully. 

The 2001 Growing Season and Harvest

Bud break in 2001 was considerably earlier than normal, taking place at the end of March during an unseasonably warm period. But then most of April was unusually cool and many vineyards suffered from damaging frost during the first half of that month. (Production in 2001 would ultimately turn out to be lower than average.) May turned freakishly warm—a few growers called it the hottest May on record—and the flowering of the Cabernet took place mostly during the last third of that month. Following a hot week in mid-June, temperatures were then mostly lower than normal during the months of July, August and September, with a few very brief heat spikes and mostly cool nights.

Some properties started picking their Cabernet during the first week of September, not long after their Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Merlot—hardly a surprise, as the bud break, flowering and veraison had also been early. But others waited, and cool temperatures in September ultimately allowed for long hang time and slow development of flavor without grape sugars skyrocketing. While many producers picked at least some of their Bordeaux red varieties early, a good part of the Cabernet harvest (Sauvignon and Franc) extended into October, allowing for slow, full ripening of the tannins. For example, Robert Mondavi Winery reported that the 2001 growing season brought “one of the longest bloom-to-harvest periods in recent history,” resulting in exceptional flavors in the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Even though Mondavi’s harvest had started on August 8 (!), the last grapes were picked at the end of October, by which time the flavors were fully mature and the tannins had softened. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for Mondavi’s Reserve Cabernet bottling came in between October 2 and 16.