Bart and Daphne Aurajo established Accendo Cellars after selling their Araujo Estate (now Eisele Vineyard) to the Artemis Group. In 2021, they passed the torch to second-generation partners Jaime and Greg Araujo. Grapes are sourced from Vine Hill Ranch in Oakville, Sleeping Lady Vineyard in Yountville, Eco Tone (a former Abreu property) above the Meadowood estate, and a site on Diamond Mountain formerly known as Reverie. Winemaker Nigel Kinsman says the idea is to express Napa Valley Cabernet through the lens of exceptional vineyard sites. It also allows him to experiment with other varieties to combine a seamless wine year to year. Agee 22 months in roughly 70% new French oak. A solid wine showing the dynamic structure of a vintage that produced smaller yields, deep concentration, and powerful tannins, which Kinsman has refined in this bottling, as they are intricate, linear, super-fine, and seamless. Pure red berry fruit tones leap from the glass, nuanced by sagebrush, earth, and dried spring flowers. Medium to full-bodied with compact black cherry, blackberry, and plum fruits laced with brown baking spices and a long, mineral-infused finish redolent of graphite and wet slate. An exceptional showing, balancing the intensity of the vintage with noticeable freshness. Best from 2025.

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine of total and exquisite finesse. Silky tannins wrap around a core of red/purplish fruit, mocha, spice, new leather and rose petals. The 2021 has the highest amount ever of Cabernet Franc (22%), and that really comes through in the wine's aromatic and flavor profile. By far the most elegant and understated wine yet from Accendo, I can't wait to see how the 2021 ages. It appears to have a brilliant future.