Inaugural Release Press
Decanter
2021 Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
“A purity of fruit comes forth in this wine in the blue-fruit spectrum with hints of black and violets, cassis, and liquorice. Full-bodied with silky tannins, blackberry fruit, blueberry compote, and wonderfully rich mocha spices that thread a sweet line interrupted by savoury notes of salty minerals on the long finish. It is super attractive and polished.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
Decanter
2021 Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
“Incredibly polished and refined with no hard edges. Superfine tannins are intricate and lengthy, underscored by a firm spine of lacy acidity. The fruit profile is pure, ripe, and succulent, with a density lifted by that bright spine of acidity. Flavors and aromas of blackberry and black cherry are nuanced by crushed cocoa nibs, tobacco and rich earth on the lengthy finish. Gorgeous now and capable of long-term cellaring.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
Decanter
2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
“This wine is intensely aromatic, pure, and bright with lifted dark berry fruit, sagebrush, and earthy minerality with lilacs. Medium to full-bodied with the finest tannins, a slight chocolaty edge, and mouthwatering blood-orange acidity on the finish. Seamless.”
— Jonathan Cristaldi
Jeb Dunnuck
2021 Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
“The Las Piedras Vineyard seems to have hit another level over the past couple of years, and the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Las Piedras Vineyard is a prime example of the quality and style of this St. Helena site. Gorgeous red and black fruits, graphite, baking spices, and chocolate all give way to a medium to full-bodied, ultra-pure, seamless, finesse-driven Cabernet Sauvignon…”
Jeb Dunnuck
2021 Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
“This dense, inky-hued effort offers a killer bouquet of chocolaty dark fruits, dried herbs, tobacco, and loamy earth. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it stays balanced and has ultra-fine tannins and a great finish.”
Jeb Dunnuck
2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
“The appellation 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is well worth your time and money. Blended with a splash of Petit Verdot, it has a terrific array of red, blue, and black fruits intermixed with notions of graphite, spring flowers, and an undeniable sense of minerality. Its balanced, has remarkable purity, fine tannins, and outstanding length. It’s already delicious and impossible to resist, and I see no need to delay gratification, although I have no doubt it has over a decade of prime drinking in it.”
James Suckling
2021 Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
“This first vintage from a new Napa winery is packed with red and black fruit and firm, fine-grained tannins that will help it age gracefully. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, it offers raspberries, blueberries, savory hints of sage and a chalky, minerally feel. Fruit reemerges on the palate and speeds through the finish. Full-bodied. Drink or hold.”
James Suckling
2021 Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
“Luscious, deep and concentrated in black fruit and dark chocolate, braced by dense, massive fine-grained tannins that bode well for aging. Dark spices, star anise, black cherries, baked blueberries and touches of vanilla bean and tobacco. Best from 2030.”
James Suckling
2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
“Polished, focused and velvety… With a majority of the grapes coming from Stags Leap District, it’s full-bodied and harmonious, with light, silky tannins and delicious black cherries, star anise and blackcurrants. Drink or hold.”
Wine Spectator
2021 Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
“Lush, forward and seductive in feel, with creamy notes of mulberry, blackberry and plum sauce that glide over a polished, fine-grained structure. Offers melted licorice and fruitcake accents alongside a flash of iris on the finish… Drink now through 2038.”
— James Molesworth
Wine Spectator
2021 Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
“This is rich and dense, offering steeped plum, black currant and boysenberry reduction notes welded together with graphite, licorice root and walnut husk accents. There’s a broad feel and a deep tug of warm loam through the finish, with ample energy in reserve.”
— James Molesworth
“Annulus 2021 Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon” has been included in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines of 2024. “
“Annulus is the ultimate limited-production, family- run Napa label… “We had been in Napa Valley for 20 years,” Evnin says. “We collected Napa Valley Cabernet for most of that time, and we got to know a decent number of the vintners and sat at their tables and heard their stories and what they were trying to do…”
— James Molesworth and MaryAnn Worobiec
“The best thing about this list is that almost every single wine on here, even the oldest vintages, should still be drinking well. The second-best thing is that all of the more recent vintages still have years of life left in them and can be opened in a decade or two…With that in mind, we have chosen the 50 Greatest Cabernet Sauvignons of the Century so far.”
“For this family… Annulus Cellars wines would reflect the heart of winemaking in their beloved valley, where families place every… fiber of their being into their wines…”
— Cathrine Todd
“Annulus is debuting with three wines, two single-vineyard bottlings and a Napa Valley cuvée crafted by the powerhouse team of well-known Napa winemaker Nigel Kinsman and consulting enologist Michel Rolland…”
— Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen
“Annulus’s first release of its sumptuous trio of Cabernet Sauvignons was received with great fanfare by the wine press…it’s almost certain that your favorite wine drinker doesn’t have any of this in their cellar yet.”
“The dream team has been assembled, and the fruits of their labor will dazzle your palate.”
— Matthew Kaner
“Kinsman’s classical approach [and]… focus on highlighting purity of fruit and vineyard expression leads to beautifully balanced, complex wines with great aging potential.”
— Fran Miller
“Launched this year, Annulus… sources grapes from Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard and Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard, first planted in the 1840s and 1884, respectively…”
— Jillian Dara
“A quintessential Napa Cabernet, this wine delivers vibrant fruit flavors of plum and blackberry, supported by well-integrated oak and hints of vanilla. .”
“Kinsman’s classical approach emphasizes purity of fruit and vineyard expression, resulting in wines that reflect their unique origins rather than a standardized style.”
“[Annulus] inspired by the circle of family and friends with whom proprietors Luke Evnin and Deann Wright… honors exceptional, historic, family-owned Napa Valley vineyards.”