Our true Bordeaux Right Bank wine. Merlot with a touch of Cabernet Franc. This wine is gorgeously fruit forward with a core of minerality.
Review
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International Wine Report
Review by Joe D'Angelo
Rating: (97)
VIEWThe 2021 ‘Rive Droite’ is composed of 96% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, and it is a gorgeous wine from Blankiet in this vintage. It is all about elegance and refinement as it impresses with its pretty aromatic profile of fresh red and dark fruits along with tobacco, fresh flowers, herbs and wet stones that all emerge beautifully from the glass. Displaying wonderful elegance and incredible poise and balance, this medium-to full-bodied red is bright, fresh, and well-defined, ending with a refined, focused finish. While the 2021 ‘Rive Droite’ is undoubtedly a beautiful young wine, collectors will want to tuck this one away for several years, as it has the potential to age tremendously well for quite some time and will certainly become more compelling over time.
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Jeb Dunnuck Report (Dec. 2023)
Review by Jeb Dunnuck
Rating: (98)
VIEWReminding me of a great Saint-Emilion with its notes of darker cherry, white truffle, spring flowers, and chalky minerality. The 2021 Merlot Rive Droite hits the palate with full-bodied richness that carries a terrific sense of freshness, ripe, polished tannins, and a great, great finish. If there is a better expression of Merlot from Napa, I am unaware of it. This awesome wine will evolve for 20 – 25 years if well stored.
Jeb Dunnuck, December 2023
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Vinous
Review by Antonio Galloni
Rating: (98)
VIEWThe 2021 Rive Droite Paradise Hills Vineyard marries vertical intensity and elegance to a degree I have not seen before. Red cherry fruit, kirsch orange peel, spice, mint, rose petal and a kiss of French oak are all beautifully delineated in the glass. Subtle, nuanced and wonderfully vibrant, the 2021 is just sublime. The Merlot-based Rive Droite offers a bit more sensuality and early appeal than the Cabernet Sauvignon-based offerings in this range. Some readers may prefer it to those wines – I certainly would not argue with that view!
Blankiet was one of the highlights of my time in Napa Valley this fall. The 2021s are simply mind-blowing. Proprietors Katherine and Claude Blankiet richly deserve all the acclaim they will surely receive for these wines. The Blankiets have put in the time and money to realize their ambition of producing world-class wines. Along the way, they have made the mistakes that are typical of all new ventures but have always done what was needed to address those issues.
Winemaker Graeme MacDonald found a finely tuned machine when he took over for Denis and May-Britt Malbec and had the skill to make the necessary adjustments to reach the next level without drastically changing the wines. Yields were down about 15% in 2021. MacDonald gave the wines 40-50 days on the skins, which worked well.
I tasted the 2021s twice, once at the winery and a second time at home in New York, just to make sure I had not been overly seduced by the magic of Napa Valley during the fall. The wines were nothing short of thrilling on both occasions. This is the vintage that places Blankiet squarely among the most elite wineries in Napa Valley. Bravo!
From The 2021 Napa Valley Cabernets, Part One (Dec 2023) by Antonio Galloni
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TastingBook.com
Review by TastingBook
Rating: (98)
VIEWThe TastingBook points (Tb points) given to this wine are the world’s most valid and up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tb points are formed by the TastingBook’s algorithm, taking into account the wine ratings of the world’s 50 best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of TastingBook’s professionals and users, the generally recognized vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get a Tb score. TastingBook.com is the world largest wine information service, unbiased, noncommercial, and free for everyone.
