2021 Nichols Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder Napa Valley 750 ml

Winemaker Britt Nichols’ résumé is sterling. After a stint at Jordan, she landed one of the most sought-after cellar jobs in the valley, at Peter Michael, assisting Nicolas Morlet in making the iconic 2010 Les Pavots. A year later, she was recruited by Philippe Melka, the Bordeaux émigré who Robert Parker named “one of the nine most influential winemaker consultants in the world.” 

While working under Melka, Britt was introduced to the stunning cooler climate Cabernet Sauvignons grown on Mount Veeder. This stretch of the Mayacamas range is “Goldilocks” terroir: lots of high-altitude, southeast-facing hillsides ringed by forest, well-draining gravelly loams, and the cooling influence of the bay. Cabernet sets small bunches of tiny berries here, giving explosively floral, red-fruited, and long-lived wines. 

“The beauty of Mount Veeder,” Britt explained to us recently, “is that daytime highs are between seven and ten degrees lower than the rest of Napa Valley. Particularly in hot years, we can pick a week or two later than further up-valley with no concern for overripeness. To be honest, in 2021, I got lucky. This is a textbook vintage for Veeder.”

The drought year of 2021 played right into Mount Veeder’s hands. While the summer months were largely free of the torrid heat spikes that have plagued recent vintages, from mid-June to late September most of Napa Valley was bathed in hot sunshine without a drop of rain, triggering a call to harvest in late August.

This utterly seductive Cabernet may well be Britt’s finest to date. Rarely does Napa Valley Cabernet of this quality—let alone from a single vineyard on Mount Veeder—cross our tasting table for under fifty dollars.