The Setting spotlight
The market on this bottle
U.S. shop listings for this 750 ml bottle, before sales tax. Auctions are left out. The low is $200.59. The average is $227.34. This bottle is $175. Checked October 27, 2026.
Rockpile Ridge • 2021 • Single vineyard
2021 The Setting Rockpile Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Rockpile, USA
Rockpile Ridge. The mountain Cabernet above the Alexander Valley.
Welcome to the best wines from the hottest new brand. The Setting's Alexander Valley Cabernet already carries Jeb Dunnuck 98 and Wine Advocate 95. This 2021 is the single-vineyard bottle from Rockpile Ridge, one mountain site the house keeps small. Owen Bargreen scored it 98. The International Wine Report scored it 97. Wine Advocate scored it 96. Jeb Dunnuck scored it 96. James Suckling scored it 95. Dunnuck's 98 still belongs to the Alexander Valley. The bottle is $175. The winery lists it at $195. If the Alexander Valley already earned a 98, what does one Rockpile ridge taste like?
One ridge, above the Alexander Valley
Rockpile Ridge sits high above the Dry Creek Valley floor, looking over Lake Sonoma, on volcanic rock. The 2021 trade sheet calls the wine bold and brooding and puts production at 250 cases. That is the specialty: one vineyard, small production, the Cabernet the house keeps beside the Alexander Valley bottling.
The Alexander Valley Cabernet on this site carries Jeb Dunnuck 98 and Wine Advocate 95. Owen Bargreen scored this Rockpile Ridge 98, the International Wine Report scored it 97, Wine Advocate scored it 96 in December 2023, Jeb Dunnuck scored it 96, and James Suckling scored it 95. Dunnuck's 98 still belongs to the Alexander Valley. The notch is the ridge: one mountain site, 250 cases, 22 months in all-new French oak.
The house
Jesse Katz, Jeff Cova, and Noah McMahon. Wine Enthusiast's 2025 Winemaker of the Year.
The ridge
Rockpile Ridge Vineyard. Volcanic rock above Dry Creek, over Lake Sonoma.
The notch
The single-vineyard step above the Alexander Valley bottling. Winery-only, small production.
The scores
Owen Bargreen 98. International Wine Report 97. Wine Advocate 96. Jeb Dunnuck 96. James Suckling 95. 250 cases, 22 months in all-new French oak.
Graphite, desert herbs, and dark fruit
The 2021 trade sheet describes graphite, mossy bark, desert herbs, and dried mushroom, then ripe red and black fruit, baker's chocolate, and a touch of vanilla. The palate is full, with chalky tannin and enough acidity to lift the fruit.
The house pours it deep ruby, with dried herbs, ripe red and black fruit, baker's chocolate, and a thread of vanilla, and it wants years in the cellar. Wine Advocate found it savory and wild: mossy bark, game, desert herbs, dried mushrooms, and a deep core of blackcurrant, with chalky tannins that want five years in bottle. The trade sheet window is 2030 to 2050. Alcohol is 15.2%. Pour the bottle at $175.
Graphite, mossy bark, desert herbs, dried mushroom.
Ripe red and black fruit, baker's chocolate, a touch of vanilla.
Drink 2030 to 2050. Full body, chalky tannin, bright acidity.
Small clusters, all-new French oak, 250 cases
One mountain vineyard. Twenty-two months. Then a short list of cases.
The 2021 is Cabernet Sauvignon from Rockpile Ridge. The trade sheet puts it at 22 months in all-new French oak, 15.2% alcohol, and 250 cases. The clusters on that ridge are small, and the soils are volcanic, which is why the fruit arrives concentrated.
Jesse Katz made it for the house he built with Jeff Cova and Noah McMahon. The Alexander Valley Cabernet next to it uses two cool sites. This one uses the ridge.
A 2014 house, and one Sonoma ridge
The Setting began in 2014, when Jesse Katz, Jeff Cova, and Noah McMahon set out to make luxury Cabernet from sites they already knew. Katz had been the youngest head winemaker in the United States at Lancaster Estate, with time at Petrus, Screaming Eagle, and Robert Foley.
Wine Enthusiast named him 2025 Winemaker of the Year. Rockpile Ridge is that idea pulled tight: one vineyard above Lake Sonoma, vintage 2021, 250 cases.
Lamb with herbs, steak with rosemary
Desert herbs and dark fruit want char, rosemary, and a little fat.
Two plates. Herb-crusted lamb chops with a dark plum sauce. A grilled steak with a rosemary crust and roasted garlic. Both leave the graphite and the herbs somewhere to go.
The sheet points the best of this bottle at 2030 to 2050. If you open one now, pour around 60 to 64 F and give it a long decant so the chalky tannin can settle.
Herb-crusted lamb chops
Rosemary, char, and a dark plum sauce meet desert herbs and black fruit.
Why it works: The herb crust echoes the ridge, and the fat softens the tannin.
View Recipe for herb-crusted rack of lamb (opens in a new tab)
Rosemary-crusted grilled steak
A hard crust and roasted garlic give the chocolate and the graphite a savory plate.
Why it works: Protein and char let the mountain fruit stay dark and long.
View Recipe for steak (opens in a new tab)Add the Rockpile Ridge at $175
One mountain vineyard. 250 cases. Rockpile Ridge, the single-vineyard Cabernet.
Add the 2021 Rockpile Ridge Cabernet at $175. Six bottles are $1,050. Twelve are $2,100, and twelve ship free in the lower 48.
