2013 DeSante Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 750 ml

Caymus, Dana Estates, Quintessa, and Clone 169 on Rutherford’s “Horseshoe Bend”

It’s Rutherford’s Rodeo Drive, with Caymus, Beckstoffer, Sloan, and Dana Estates all in close proximity. When David DeSante went looking for vineyard sources, he knew exactly — to the row — where he wanted to go. But even with David's consulting background and strong relationships with the owners of Rutherford’s Dust, he knew the odds were somewhere between slim and none.

There’s a small entourage of extremely talented young winemakers in Napa Valley, led by the likes of David DeSante and Julien Fayard, who are as passionate about their search for superb vineyard sources as they are about their cellar work. While Fayard earned his stripes at the side of Philippe Melka, DeSante received a crash course on the vineyard blocks of Oakville and Rutherford while at Mondavi. For years, David had eyed a single parcel at the northeastern tip of the AVA, where Rutherford joins St. Helena. “It wasn’t like I discovered a swath of vineyard land that others didn’t know much about. After all, Dana Estates is just to the west. Beckstoffer is immediately to the east. Then there’s Caymus, Sloan, and Quintessa. But what interested me more than others was one specific block — just a few rows — that used to be called ‘Horseshoe Bend.’”

What so intrigued David DeSante about “Horseshoe Bend”? Rutherford’s old Baritelle Vineyard was divided into a number of blocks, one of which is right up against BV and planted almost entirely to Clone 169, a low-yielding clone that makes for loose clusters, good berry size, and big, bold, deeply colored Cabernet Sauvignons. DeSante had been trying for years to land a grape contract there. But it wouldn’t be until the extraordinary harvests of 2012 and 2013 that a few tons became available. DeSante grabbed every cluster offered to him, purportedly paying nearly $10,000/ton for the opportunity.

While David’s first effort off of “Horseshoe Bend” was darkly concentrated, juicy, and gently braced by soft tannins, the release of this staggering 2013 is quickly earning DeSante comparisons to his illustrious neighbors, Caymus and Dana Estates.

The 2013 DeSante Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford is saturated purple-black in color. Absolutely gorgeous aromatically, featuring a chiseled mix of black fruits, anise, violets, and forest floor. Rich, full-bodied, and opulent on the attack, with stunning concentration and precision, filled with black-fruit preserves and braced by what Robert Parker calls the “laser-like” tension of the “greatest vintage I’ve tasted in 37 years.” Drink now if you must, or far better, do as we’re doing and lay this brilliant new release down until the mid-2020s. It could surely use the rest.

$85 on release. Nearly HALF-price on this pre-release offer exclusively on WineAccess. Shipping included on 4.