2016 Hoopes Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

We’ll never forget our first conversation with Lindsay Hoopes.

“Are you sure you’re not forgetting a “1” in front of that number?” we asked after she told us the price of her Hoopes Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Grown in part on a tiny, ten-acre plot next to the To Kalon vineyard in Oakville—the site that supplies Opus One and some of the grandest wines in Napa Valley—it’s a Cabernet that could easily command a blue-chip Napa price.

Fortunately, Lindsay still hasn’t added a “1” to the price, although the 2016 Hoopes Cab blends right in, quality-wise, with its neighbors in one of the most sought-after districts in Napa Valley. Hoopes sits close to wineries like Cardinale and Paradigm, whose flagship reds fetch substantially more than this one (Cardinale is over $300).  

For a 2016 Napa Cab of this caliber, it’s a downright amazing value, especially considering the sheer brilliance of the 2016 growing season. The year earned Napa’s highest-ever score on Wine Advocate’s Vintage Chart, and the highest score since 1997 from Wine Spectator, rallying collectors and pushing prices even higher. The Hoopes Cabernet combines grapes from their coveted Oakville property with Cabernet from exceptional sites across the Valley. The result is a complex tapestry of Napa terroir, and one of the best Napa Cabs we’ve had at this price. 

Given that Wine Access members cleaned out our last Hoopes allocation and immediately showered it with four- and five-star reviews, there’s no way our cases of the 2016 can last long.

Lindsay poured us the 2016 over lunch, and the wine’s intoxicating violet, espresso bean, and blueberry pie aromas almost made us forget about the plates in front of us—no easy feat. But the wine’s muscular mouthfeel and rich tannins, layered with graphite and licorice, were only elevated by the savory meal. 

“This is what we’ve been aiming for all along,” Lindsay told us. “We wanted to make a wine that could be enjoyed early, but that could also age. We didn’t want it to be overwhelming with food. But we definitely wanted it to still be able to stand out on its own.”

Lindsay’s father planted the vineyard back in 1983, and for 15 years, the family sold the Cabernet grapes, supplying some of the area’s most iconic wineries. Finally, in 1999, they decided to make their own Cabernet, and it quickly became the fairly priced quality benchmark it still is today.

Lindsay took over in 2012, and elegant Napa Valley has since become the Hoopes calling card. Along with winemaker Anne Vawter—who worked for four years with the legendary Heidi Peterson Barrett—and co-winemaker Jennifer Rue, Lindsay is producing sleek, aromatic, and plush Cabernet that recalls the early greats of the Valley, but that Lindsay hails as “the New Napa.” 

This might be the “New Napa,” but it is classic quality, at a price that makes us yearn for days that we thought were long past.

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

• ABV 14.50%
• 30 mins
• Now – 2030
• % Cabernet Sauvignon
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork