2018 Word Choice Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Only in the rarest circumstances does this Napa Cabernet escape its top-scoring source estate to be bottled under other labels. But those unique circumstances intersected in 2018 when a bountiful vintage, the winemaker’s commitment to tiny production sizes, and a perfectly-timed call landed this 2018 Word Choice for Wine Access members.

This source estate crafts some of the most complex, concentrated Cabernets in Napa—bottles that the critics have implored Cab-lovers not to miss. But that’s easier said than done. The few cases they make are barely enough to satisfy their at-capacity mailing list and the collectors on their mile-long waiting list, who are ready to pounce on any bottle that miraculously slips past.

Those lucky enough to find one gladly fork over up to $350. Yet today, thanks to a hefty NDA, the 2018 Word Choice is just $35.

That doorstop of an NDA hemmed in how much we can say, but know that each of this estate’s carefully selected vineyards sites could inspire pages of prose on its own. In fact, some pretty choice words escaped our lips when we first tasted this yet unnamed 2018. Then, listening to each wine team member wax poetic about the wine’s merits, it hit us: This label is Word Choice. WC, a common editing shorthand, indicates the need for a precise and compelling word. With this 2018, we’ve bottled the kind of wine that can inspire floods of prose, punctuated by staccato bursts of vivid imagery. 

Sip after ruby-purple sip had us pontificating about its poise and balance, its sheer power in harmony with tantalizing freshness. Drawing concentration from a 2018 vintage that James Suckling said could be “a new benchmark for Napa Valley reds,” this wine brandishes black-fruited power and muscle, channeled with wonderful nuance and contemplation—firm tannins, acidic lift, and a depth of exotic spice and oak. 

In the same way that great writing comes from great editing, great wine comes from attentive, detail-oriented winemaking. We gave this hand-picked Cabernet a treatment worthy of its immaculate terroir. 20 long months in oak imbued the wine with another level of spice complexity and impeccable harmony.   

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

• ABV 15.20%
• 15 mins
• Now – 2029
• % Cabernet Sauvignon
• Serving temperature – 62°
• Cork