• Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
• Vineyard sources: Principally the family’s five estate properties in Yountville
• Farming: Sustainably farmed family estates
• Aging: French oak; an official vintage sheet specifying the exact barrel duration and percentage of new oak was not available
• Body: Medium to full
• Acidity: Medium
• Tannin: Medium-plus, with the edges beginning to soften
• Serving temperature: 60–65°F
• Decanting: Approximately 30 minutes
• Drinking window: Now–2030
• Food pairings: Grilled steak, roast beef, lamb chops, short ribs, braised beef, portobello mushrooms or aged cheddar

Our Take

Charles Krug is one of Napa Valley’s genuinely historic names, but this wine is more than a history lesson. The 2020 delivers plenty of recognizable Napa Cabernet richness without moving into the oversized, heavily extracted style that has become common at considerably higher prices.

The nose leads with ripe red cherry, baked strawberry, currant and blueberry, followed by fig, coffee bean, cocoa and vanilla. With air, the oak contributes notes of toasted spice and caramel, while a subtle savory quality adds welcome complexity. The palate is medium to full-bodied, with generous fruit, firm but increasingly polished tannins and enough acidity to keep the wine from feeling overly soft.

At six years of age, this is moving into a very good drinking window. The fruit remains generous and primary, but the tannins and oak are beginning to settle into the wine. It does not have the concentration or long-term structure of Charles Krug’s Vintage Selection Cabernet, but that is not what this bottling is trying to be. This is a satisfying, classically proportioned Napa Cabernet designed for the dinner table—and a strong value relative to what the appellation now routinely costs.