2019 Grand Napa Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley

When it comes to Grand Napa’s vineyard sources, we wouldn’t rule anything out.

The team behind the Rutherford-based winery seems to know everyone in Napa Valley—and each year we hear absolutely astounding rumors about the sites they’ve scored fruit from.

For legal reasons (see: NDAs, inch-thick) they’ve never been able to confirm or deny our suppositions—though that doesn’t stop us parsing every single eyebrow-quiver or hint of a smile when we bring it up over dinner—and so we can’t share our guesses with you without fear of a lawsuit. 

We can tell you winemaker Stéphane Vivier is famous for helming the personal project of one of the most revered figures in the wine world—but we can’t technically mention any names involved, despite the fact that Vivier’s former boss and mentor is behind wines that regularly sell for $10,000, or more, per bottle.

The Reserve is a barrel-selection cuvée, and the rich fruit and chewy tannins that wind their way through this ruby-black Cabernet carry show off the quality of the raw material. The 2019 vintage was an excellent one in Napa: a year that Wine Spectator awarded 97 points and Wine Advocate called “Extraordinary.”

Our members rave about this wine every year. “Delicious and one of the best Wine Access wines I have had,” raved one of the Wine Access members who got in on a previous allocation of the Grand Napa Reserve. “So impressed that I find myself needing a special occasion to drink it because I don’t want to run out.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.50%
• 30 mins
• Now – 2035
• % Cabernet Sauvignon
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork