Aperture Cellars

Collage Proprietary Red

Alexander Valley

2021

Vintage

Varietal

Red Blend

ABV

Peak 2030-2046

Where it is, June 2026

Approaching Peak: drinkable, but best years are ahead.

In May 2026 the 2021 Collage Proprietary Red is just entering its drinking window, which opened in 2026 and peaks between 2030 and 2046. The wine is showing the vibrancy and concentration of a wine that has had five years to begin developing bottle complexity while retaining the freshness and dark fruit energy of its youth. A 60-to-90-minute decant is strongly recommended, which will allow the floral perfume to emerge and the focused tannins to soften into their optimal expression. Those who hold bottles through the early 2030s will encounter a wine that has developed significant secondary and tertiary complexity, with the leather and graphite notes deepening alongside the fruit. This has the architecture to develop beautifully across two decades.

Related vintages

The ‘21 Collage Proprietary Red.

A deep, seamlessly textured Alexander Valley proprietary red with cassis, graphite, polished leather and focused tannins, with a long aging arc through 2046.

Drinking window

The arcYou are here · approaching peak, 2026

Tasting note

The 2021 Aperture Cellars Collage Proprietary Red from Alexander Valley is a wine of real collector ambition, a large-format Bordeaux-influenced blend that demonstrates what Jesse Katz's estate can achieve when the full range of Alexander Valley's red variety potential is brought into a single composition. The color in the glass is deep and saturated, a dense garnet with purple highlights. The nose leads with deep cassis, a concentrated blackcurrant character that anchors the entire aromatic profile. Graphite and mineral notes add a structural dimension that immediately signals the wine's serious intent. Polished leather provides a tertiary complexity note that speaks to age-worthiness. The aromatic apex is a floral perfume, violet and dark flowers rising above the dark fruit base. On the palate the wine is full and seamless, with a texture that is both polished and deeply concentrated. The tannins are focused and well-integrated rather than aggressive, providing a long, refined structural framework. The finish is long and deep, with all the aromatic complexity persisting to a clean, precise close. This is a wine that reveals layers on successive sips.

The 2021 vintage

The 2021 growing season in Alexander Valley was one of the better recent vintages for structured, balanced Cabernet-based wines. Following the extreme heat of 2020 and 2019, 2021 delivered a more moderate, extended growing season with good natural acidity preserved in the fruit. The result was wines with genuine freshness and structural precision rather than the overripe, high-alcohol character that challenged some vintages in the preceding years. For Aperture's Collage, which requires consistent quality across multiple Bordeaux varieties, 2021 was an excellent vintage for building a cohesive, complex blend.

About Aperture Cellars

Aperture Cellars was founded by Jesse Katz, who built his reputation through stints at some of California's most acclaimed Cabernet producers before establishing his own label with an uncompromising focus on Alexander Valley terroir. Collage is the estate's flagship proprietary red blend, named for the practice of combining multiple varieties and vineyard sources into a single unified composition. Katz views the blend as a creative act analogous to collage art, in which disparate elements are assembled into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. The wine is produced in small quantities and released only in vintages that meet the estate's exacting standards.

From the cellar: pair with

Dry-aged porterhouse with roasted bone marrow

The wine's cassis concentration and focused tannins are built for the mineral richness of dry-aged beef, and the bone marrow mirrors the polished leather and dark fruit character of the wine.

Braised short ribs with blackcurrant jus and celeriac puree

The blackcurrant jus mirrors the wine's cassis core, and the earthy celeriac echoes the graphite mineral notes of the Collage.

Aged Manchego with marcona almonds and dark honey

The wine's graphite and leather notes find a complementary partner in aged Manchego's nutty, savory character, with the dark honey adding sweetness that bridges the wine's deep fruit core.

Service & cellaring

Serving Temp: 17-18C / 63-64F
Decanting: Decant for 60 to 90 minutes. The wine is young and the cassis and graphite complexity opens significantly with extended air exposure. Use a wide-bottomed decanter and pour with a gentle splash to accelerate opening.
Cellar Storage: 12-14C / 54-57F

Track this bottle Read the Alexander Valley guide

The drinking window on this bottle is calculated with the Cellared Ageability Index (CAI) v1.0, a 10-factor model. Try the free drinking window calculator on any wine, or read when to drink wine for the practical signals.

Frequently Asked

What is in the 2021 Aperture Collage?

Collage is a proprietary Bordeaux-style red blend sourced from Alexander Valley, drawing on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec in proportions that vary by vintage. The 2021 blend emphasizes the cassis and graphite character that is the Aperture house style.

When will the 2021 Collage be at its best?

The drinking window opened in 2026 and peak expression is expected between 2030 and 2046. The wine has the structure and concentration to age beautifully across two full decades.

How does Collage differ from Aperture's single-vineyard Cabernets?

Where the single-vineyard Cabernets seek to express a specific site, Collage is explicitly a blended composition drawing on multiple varieties and sources. It is designed to achieve complexity through combination rather than through the depth of a single site.

Is this a wine to cellar or drink now?

Both are viable options. The wine is entering its window and delivers genuine pleasure now with a 90-minute decant. But the best expression is still ahead between 2030 and 2046, and patient collectors will be rewarded with a significantly more complex and integrated wine.