2009 Merlin Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Wine Access members have not just made every one of Randall Watkins’ impeccably aged Cabernets fast sell-outs, but they’ve summed them up as well as anyone could:

“Absolutely fabulous,” said one five-star review. “The word is ‘balance.’ Aroma, bouquet, taste, color, tannins, richness all in perfect balance. One of my finest tastings of the year. My dinner grouping could not believe it was not $100/bottle.”

We expect some serious disbelief from the Wine Access members who take home today’s EXCLUSIVE allocation of Randall’s 2009 Merlin Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, which we’ve got at a song! 

There is not a ghost of a trace of this wine in retail shops or online—we only discovered it because we saw Randall, a longtime friend and partner, at a blind tasting last year. We gleaned from the way he was gently cradling the Bordeaux-shaped bottle that we were in for something special, and when we picked this perfectly aged 2009 Cabernet out of the lineup—which included a few high-priced Napa classics—we saw our chance to bring another ultra-rare cellar steal to our members. 

Showing its age in a ruby hue with a kiss of garnet at the rim, the bouquet explodes with layers of plummy dark fruit, accented by dried roses, violets, tobacco, and a hint of licorice. The mouthfeel is rounded and complete, with emerging tertiary notes of fennel seed and leather, and it finishes with integrated and well-structured tannins, and an undeniable mineral tone. 

For a Napa Cabernet experience like this one, you’d normally have to pay $80 or more—and then wait ten years. So claim yours while you can. 

We’ve been buying from and supporting Randall Watkins’ small, family-owned Sonoma operation since they were making just two barrels of each wine and fermenting lots in makeshift containers because stainless steel tanks were too expensive. Today, their mailing list regularly buys up the winery’s entire production, because their Cabernets are held close to the hearts of countless Cabernet collectors. But our early patronage has paid off with unprecedented access to Randall’s cellar treasures. 

Library wines are some of the most valuable bottles on the market—pre-aged, perfectly preserved specimens from wineries’ private stocks—and from top vintages, they can transcend price. That’s because such wines are stashed away in collectors’ homes or winery libraries, and have effectively disappeared from the market. Take a look around for another bottle of his 2009 Merlin Cabernet, and you’ll see what we mean. 

While Randall built his reputation at Wine Access on the strength of his Cabernets he crafts in Sonoma County under the Watkins Family Winery label, the ‘09 Merlin hails from the much more famous and pricey side of the Mayacamas—specifically, an NDA-protected Oakville vineyard that has gone into cult Cabernets.

In the 2009 vintage, one of the best of the last decade, that vineyard produced beautiful and structured wine that most Cabernet lovers were happy to drink in the near term—and of course most wineries were happy to sell. But Randall’s wines are always built to last, so after he aged the wine in 60% new French oak and bottled it, he tucked some cases away in his Santa Rosa cellar, tasting every so often to determine when the wine had hit its stride.

We’re thrilled to report the time has come, and even more excited to bring you this wine—while it lasts.