2018 Color and Sound Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

The pedigree of this Cab is spectacular. The winemaker is a 100-point legend who brings Old World gloss to one of Napa’s great Cabernet houses. The estate, in one of the most exclusive zip codes in the mid-Valley, specializes in small single-vineyard releases, and if you want to get your hands on one, you can join the mailing list… as long as you don’t mind a two-year wait.

The winemaker is a protégé of Robert Mondavi, the author of a top-ten Wine Spectator bottle, and he often puts himself to the test in blind tastings, pouring his own wines against Bordeaux First and Second Growths and telling his guests not to pull any punches. More often than not, his wines end up winning out, or at least battling the Médoc heavies to a draw.

We discovered today’s blockbuster at one such tasting, to which we’d brought our friend Alexis. She’s an honest-to-goodness synesthete who experiences taste as touch, smell, sight, and sound. We couldn’t wait to hear her thoughts.

“Round and smooth in shape, like alluvial river stones, worn down to silky smoothness,” Alexis began. “There’s a rushing energy to it, like a strong wind blowing off a mountain face. It’s as cool to the touch as water from a limestone spring, or a dry autumn morning. It’s a parade, not a stampede, of blues, reds, and purples.”  

The conversation continued late into the evening. Before we knew it, it was midnight, and we’d secured a portion of this one-off bottling for Wine Access members—at a fantastic friends-and-family rate.

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

• ABV 15.20%
• 15 mins
• Drink Up
• 93% Cabernet Sauvignon4% Cabernet Franc3% Malbec
• Serving temperature – 62°
• Cork