2021 Thorevilos

Longtime winemaker Brad Grimes once again presented a stellar set of wines. The bottled 2021 are every bit as compelling as they were from barrel. The 2022s are shaping up to be very fine for the year. Grimes commented that Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot fared better through the heat than Cabernet Sauvignon, which required more sorting. Yields are down 25% in a brutally hot, dry year that saw temperatures soar to an unprecedented 123°F in Thorevilos on September 6. Abreu fans will also find much to admire in the young 2023s, wines from a very late harvest that did not start until October 3.

The only problem with tasting with Brad Grimes at Abreu this year was that there were fewer wines to taste. Abreu skipped the 2020 vintage, and Grimes had not done any blending of 2022s, so I did not taste those either. As for the 2021s, they are still in barrel and shaping to be magnificent. As I have noted previously, in recent years, Grimes has brought a more refined approach to these wines, which is evident in their silkier textures vis-à-vis the wines from the decade prior. Earlier in the year, I had a chance to visit the new Thorevilos site, where the maniacal attention to detail that has made David Abreu such a legend is on full display. Never one to sit still, Abreu has several other projects in development that I have not been able to see yet only because there are still 24 hours in the day. The Abreu wines remain reference points in Napa Valley.

This is a terrific set of new and upcoming releases from Abreu. Over the last few years, in particular, the wines have become much more texturally refined so that they are no longer the brutes they used to be on release. Always soft-spoken and unassuming, winemaker Brad Grimes's says he hasn’t changed much. That may be the case from year to year, but over an arc of time, it seems pretty obvious that the Abreu wines are more refined than ever. Another development here is the continued improvement in wines from Cappella and Las Posadas, sites that played second fiddle to the flagships from Madrona Ranch and Thorevilos. That is no longer the case these days. While there are no 2020s, there are plenty of other wines to look forward to.