Bear with me folks, this one's gonna require some 'splainin'... Lot 50 is a non-vintage Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. There, I've said it. Now, before you run out the door, hear me out... I've had my eye on this wine from the start. Quite frankly, it was best 2022 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon I'd seen on the bulk market all year. No-expense-spared viticulture, winemaking, 100% new French oak, all the bells and whistles, blah blah blah...however, the acquisition was an exercise in patience, waiting for many many months before the producer, rightfully very proud but a year late to the market, came down to Earth on price. So, I purchased the wine, which was marketed to me as a 100% Oakville estate blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petite Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4.5% Merlot and .5% Malbec and I planned on bottling it as Lot 50 2022 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. However, after poking around a bit, I noticed that the producer had, in the past, bottled and marketed one of their wines as a non-vintage Napa Valley red. Hmmmm...well, that got me to thinking, why not give the the non-vintage approach a try? I used to sell boatloads of Xavier Vignon's non-vintage Rhone's and Chateauneuf-du-Pape and they were not only his most expensive wines, but his best wines as well. So, I thought let's give it a shot and a couple weeks ago I told Katie that I was open to pursuing a non-vintage blend. She kind of screwed up her face and said "who's going to buy a non-vintage Cabernet?" and I said, "if it makes the wine better, I can sell it". Ever the blending maestro, Katie immediately said "oh, well we can definitively make a better wine". So, we started running trials and, while the 2022 was great wine in and of itself, it quickly became apparent that we could significantly improve it if we went NV. (quite frankly, I started thinking we might have to do more wines in this NV style, but, at the end of the day, I suspect it is more likely that the 2022 vintage, due to it's vibrant aromatics and open knit structure, is better suited to have other components slotted into it). So, here is where we ended up: to the aforementioned base blend, we added an additional 5% 2023 Napa Carneros Merlot, 4% 2024 Coombsville Petite Verdot and 3% 2024 Yountville Malbec, all of the latter components hailing from $150-$200+/bottle programs. The resulting wine is fantastic, I promise. So, what are you buying? The good news is these folks don't make a bottle of wine under $200. I suspect the base wine is what remains of one of their two bottling blends, but can't be certain either way...it may be a combo of the two...hard to say. Regardless, what you have in front of you is a fantastic Oakville Cabernet from a no-expense-spared, 100% new French oak program offered at the incredible price of just $20/bottle. BACK UP THE TRUCK good? Damn straight and, as they say, you can take that to the bank. Just trust me on this one folks. Only 350 cases available so you'll probably want to back up your truck right about now... Opaque verging on inky, this was definitely the darkest 2022 vintage Cabernet I've seen even before we girded it up with the '24 Malbec and PV. On the nose, vibrant aromas of blueberry pie, white flowers and powdery rose petal halo notes of anise and blackberry mixed with milk chocolate and fresh turned black earth. The bouquet quickly complexes, adding layers of vervy blackcurrant and racy raspberry (thank you, '24 Malbec) with an amalgam of cedar, leather and tobacco from all the new oak. Ripe, supple and open knit on entry with a robust structure rich and sumptuous with mixed berry pie, mocha, cocoa powder, cedar and vanilla. Supremely velvety and expansive on the palate with long, lingering finish, this wine combines purity, accessibility and harmony with power and precision. This wine will drink great in it's youth and age gracefully for another 15+years. 100% Oakville estate 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon (85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petite Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4.5% Merlot and .5% Malbec) blended with 5% 2023 Napa Carneros Merlot, 4% 2024 Coombsville Petite Verdot and 3% 2024 Yountville Malbec.~100% new French oak 14.5% alc.
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