2013 Chad Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Napa Valley

Chad’s Private Reserve Mystery … and a SECOND 8-Page NDA

A bit more than a year ago, when Chad called to give us first crack at the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve, he was flying high. “There are just 12 barrels. The fruit is from the estate. The winery’s a regular on Robert Parker’s Greatest Hits. But I better shut up until I get the details worked out.”

A couple nights later, we booked a table for three at Mustards. Rain pelted the restaurant windows. We ordered a plate of fried calamari as we waited for Chad to arrive. Tasted that afternoon at our Meadowood bungalow, the proposed 2012 “Private Reserve” was all that our winemaker buddy had made it out to be — deep, dark, chiseled, and polished, the utmost in mountain pedigree. As to the identity of its maker, we pieced together the clues that had been provided, determined to get Chad to spill the beans.

We’d been told that the “Private Reserve” was comprised of estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon, of which the winery never sold a cluster. Initially ticketed for the winery’s upcoming $400/bottle release, during the assemblage the flying winemaker set aside 12 barrels that didn’t quite “fit” in the final blend. Of the few insiders who received a sales call, Chad was the first to respond.

Our buddy was drenched head to toe as he pulled up a chair. He looked ragged — pale and shaken. But not from the storm. Legal had just put him through the ringer. “I’ve spent more in legal fees in the last four days than I did in the first 40 years of my life,” Chad lamented, fingers massaging his temples. “An 8-page NDA???? After I read this thing, I wasn’t sure I was still allowed to kiss my kids goodnight, let alone order a cappuccino at the St. Helena Coffee Roasting Company!”

Then Chad looked up, pleading. “Just one thing this time, guys. Be gentle with me tonight. I’m worn out. For once, DON’T ASK QUESTIONS I’m not allowed to answer!”

What had been written into the small print of the winery NDA? Not only could there be no mention on the label — in printed material or on the web — of the name of the winery or its superstar winemaker, but there could be no discussion of the elevation of the vineyard from which the wine was drawn. By agreement, Chad could not disclose the names of the winery’s neighbors or THEIR winemakers. Nothing could be written, or even intimated, about the magnitude of the investment that went into the excavation, planting, and nurturing of what many believe to be one of Napa Valley’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignon sites.

“My lawyer told me I was crazy. Told me not to sign it. But how often am I going to get a shot at wine like this for CHAD? Once … and never again!” Or so Chad THOUGHT!

As was reported in Robert Parker’s vintage report, the 2013 Napa Valley vintage is everything 2012 was — and more. In the second of four consecutive drought vintages, concentration was extreme. But unlike 2012, berry size was quite small in 2013, with higher skin-to-juice ratio, making for sturdier Cabernet Sauvignons that, in the case of vineyards and wineries like this one, will live effortlessly for three or four DECADES!

The astounding 2013 CHAD Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is a step up from the monumental 2012. Opaque purple. Explosive nose of blackberry and blackcurrant. Rich, dense, full-bodied, more chewy in texture than the first release, packed with black-fruit preserves and sweet spice, bracketed by sturdier tannin backbone. Drink now for its primary-fruit hedonism before it “shuts down.” Then lay down this superstar estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon until the mid- 2030s. Enormous dividends will be paid to the patient.

Under the winery’s own label? About the price for a prix fixe dinner at The French Laundry. Today under CHAD? Little more than a double cappuccino and a half-dozen scones at the St. Helena Coffee Roasting Company. You make the call.

• ABV 14.80%
• Enjoy right away
• % Cabernet Sauvignon