Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Napa Valley 2021

100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independent): "The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, with 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec in the blend, is deep garnet-purple in color. Very closed and broody to start off, it needs a lot of shaking to wake up profound notes of blackcurrant jelly, plum preserves, boysenberries, and cinnamon stick leading to an undercurrent of rosebud tea, anise, and incense. The medium to full-bodied palate is tightly wound with firm, grainy tannins and great tension perfectly framing the intense baking spice and mineral-laced black fruit flavors, finishing very long and fantastically complex. "We've been propagating more of our original old vine budwood - our own 'Cohn' clone," said winemaker Celia Welch. "We don't give out any of this budwood. All the Cohn clone vines go into the Scarecrow. 2021 was a beautiful but smaller vintage, with yields down 30-35%. Drink: 2028-2058. (Mar 2024)"

100 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Moving to the Grand Vin 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, red wine simply doesn't get any better, and I never cease to be amazed at what winemaker Celia Welch accomplishes with this incredible terroir. Deep ruby/plum-hued, with a kaleidoscope-like array of cr me de cassis, jammy blackberries, spicy oak, graphite, and smoked tobacco, with a kiss of background chocolaty nuances, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a multi-dimensional, layered mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a flawlessly layered, concentrated, balanced profile that has to be tasted to be believed. Given its wealth of fruit and texture, as well as purity and balance, it already offers pleasure, yet smart money will give bottles 4-6 years in the cellar, count themselves lucky, and enjoy bottles over the following two decades. Drink: 2023-2043. (Dec 2023)"

99 points Jonathan Cristaldi (Decanter),/b>: "The 2021 vintage of Scarecrow is a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec, and 2% Petit Verdot, all harvested from the J.J. Cohn estate in Rutherford. Aged 21 months in 75% new French oak, bottled unfined and unfiltered. A seamless wine, it boasts a super dense core of bright, ripe blackberry and black cherry fruit framed by superfine, dusty-mineral-laced tannins. Lovely kirsch and dried currant fruit intermix with dried floral notes, grapefruit peel, and a long core of crushed stone minerals with hints of espresso beans and crunchy pomegranate seeds. It's so fresh, with impressive density and a core of beautifully precise and sweet ripe fruit balanced by the persistence of its pure mineral character. The backstory of this iconic cult Napa label points to co-founder Bret Lopez's grandfather, Joseph Judson Cohn, who bought 78 hectares in Rutherford near Inglenook in 1942 as a summer getaway for his family. Cohn, who passed away at 100 in 1996, was described as ‘one of the five men who built Metro Goldwyn Mayer’ and "one of the powers in the business," who preferred "no screen credits, no publicity." He was head of production at the studio during its heyday when it produced classics such as "Ben Hur" and "The Wizard of Oz". In 1945, Cohn's Rutherford neighbour, John Daniel Jr. of Inglenook, convinced Cohn to plant some hectares of vines and sell him the fruit. Much later, Cohn's grandson, Bret Lopez, who fondly remembered summers at the Rutherford estate, desired that the Cohn Ranch, as it was called, remain in the family after Cohn passed away. Lopez and his sisters inherited it but had trouble co-managing the property. When Lopez offered to buy the sisters out, it was decided that the best way to find a fair price was to put it on the open market. The family didn’t fully understand the property's value, but valley insiders did. As interest grew, Lopez began to see that he wouldn’t have the money to buy the property from his sisters unless he found a partner. As one of the “sellers”, he’d have the right of first refusal, but if he couldn’t match the highest bid, it wouldn’t matter. Lopez found a willing partner in his neighbour, Francis Ford Coppola, who owns Inglenook. An ideal partnership was formed with Coppola’s cash and Lopez’s equity. Ultimately, Lopez kept roughly ten planted hectares, the late 19th-century house, and some of the hillside wilderness behind the home. Coppola absorbed the rest of the Cohn Ranch into his Inglenook estate. Lopez and his wife, Mimi DeBlasio, set out to create a wine label that pays homage to his grandfather, and in 2006, the first vintage of Scarecrow (’03) was released. Celia Welch makes the wine, and Mike Wolf farms the 10-ha J.J. Cohn Estate. Both Welch and Wolf continue to work in tandem today. Drinking window 2024-2050 (May 2024)"

98+ points Joe Czerwinski (Wine Advocate): "The 2021 Scarecrow is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a vineyard on the western edge of Rutherford, nestled back against the Mayacamas range. Boasting a fabulous nose of deep, dark, black cherries and earthy-spicy notes accented by a touch of mocha-like oak, this full-bodied wine is ripe, rich and velvety. There's ample density and concentration, but the wine still retains a sense of freshness on the long, elegant finish. Drink: 2025-2040. (Jan 2024)"

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with captivating aromatics that are immediately alluring. Blackberry, camphor, dried herbs, incense, licorice, chocolate and lavender are so suggestive. On the palate, the 2021 is dark, brooding and quite mysterious. There's a somber intensity to the 2021 that is incredibly appealing. Harvest took place over three weeks from September 5 to 26, and yields were down by nearly 50%. The more positive news is that the 2021 is one of the very finest Scarecrows in some time. Drink 2028-2046 (Dec 2023)"

97 points Wine Spectator: "This beautifully captures the vivid freshness of '21's fruit -- boysenberry, blackberry and mulberry puree -- while marrying it to a tug of Rutherford earth and an underpinning of iron, draping a beautiful gloss of anise, violet and apple wood–accented toast over everything. Showing great mouthfeel, definition and length, this wine offers it all. Best from 2025 through 2045. 1,600 cases made. (Nov 2024)"