2017 Titus Andronicus Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley 750 ml

An absolutely scorching under-$30 deal, this luscious Napa bottling has become a sell-out favorite with Wine Access members over the last six vintages.

Crafted by the legendary Phil Titus, famous for his multiple 99-pointers at Chappellet and the sumptuous Cabernets off his family’s ranch in St. Helena, Titus Andronicus is one of the all-time great Napa bargains at $29 a bottle, richly invested with rich black fruit swirled with cinnamon and espresso. 

If there’s one consistent theme to the customer feedback we get on Titus Andronicus, which boasts dozens of four- and five-star reviews, it’s regret at not squirreling away more of Phil’s signature value effort. “Should have purchased more of it” is a line we’ve heard before. And: “6 or 8 years cellaring will make this wine one you would have wished you had purchased several cases.”

If you love Dave Phinney’s The Prisoner and similar expressions of voluptuous power, spring for this amazing, limited-production bargain—and don’t risk getting lost in the “if only” crowd. Purple verging on black, infused with plush aromas of blackberry and black cherry preserves, laced with violets, tobacco, and cedar and sleek on the attack, this is simply too delicious to pass up.

We first met Phil over 20 years ago. Tall, thoughtful, self-effacing, and calm, he’s one of Napa’s most ardent torchbearers for trimming yields to spike concentration from start to finish. At the same time, he’s equally conscious of softening the often rustic edges of Napa Valley tannins. The 2017 vintage lent a hand there, imbuing grapes in Napa with a wonderful, round richness born of a warm growing season. 

When Phil arrived at Chappellet, the winery was turning out broadly muscled Cabernets that would often take years to come out of their shell. Titus helped lead an about-face, adopting the cellar protocol perfected by Craig Williams in the production of one of Napa’s most iconic wines, Phelps Insignia. The techniques Titus brought to both Chappellet and his Titus label pushed the envelope on ripeness and forward fruit, making for luscious Cabernet Sauvignons that were stunning out of the gate, but continued to add weight and complexity after a decade in the bottle.

This powerhouse red blend is drawn from hand-tended vines a stone’s throw from Duckhorn in St. Helena, where the Titus Vineyards have been farmed by the family for over 30 years. 2017 produced a tiny crop, but the harvested fruit was pristine, full of small-berry clusters of excellent concentration and sturdy acid backbone.

Veterans of this cuvée will find all the crushed red and black fruit concentration they’ve fallen for in the past, at the same fantastic value. For those new to the club, this one delivers gobs of pleasure from a blue-chip Napa talent, and only gets more popular by the year.