2004 Young Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Premium Estate Napa Valley 750 ml

Discovering the 2004 Young Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Premium Estate was like discovering a dusty 1959 Porsche in a barn.

Here’s why it’s so special: We have never been able to offer a library Napa Valley Cabernet with 20 years of age under its belt. Sure, we’ve tasted many over the years, but nothing has ever wowed us like this one—which is why we bought every last bottle on the spot. It’s a dream come true: a perfectly-cellared small-batch Cab—made by a winemaker trained at Robert Mondavi Winery, Beaulieu Vineyard, and Sterling and hailing from a Napa vintage Wine Spectator rated 95—that is not just still alive, but really kicking.

We knew our VP of Wine Eduardo Dingler was up to something when he brought out this bottle and poured. The room fell silent as we took in the wine’s dark plum, cherry, and fig aromas, along with dried violets and hints of aniseed and tobacco. Savoring the vibrant, supple palate with no hard edges to its black fruit and spice, someone wondered aloud: “Where the heck did you find this?”

Young Ridge has been hiding in plain sight since 1995, when founders LeRoy and Patty Young produced their first Cabernet from their two acres of vines in east Napa, planted in 1992. Not long after, they purchased a 99-acre vineyard in Napa County’s Pope Valley, where they built a winery production facility. They hired winemaker Julianna Beckmann Gosling, who learned her craft through stints at Robert Mondavi Winery, Beaulieu Vineyard, and Sterling Vineyards. She absolutely nailed their 2004, a year with a small but otherwise perfect crop in Napa Valley.