2013 Wade Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

He sat down and helped himself to some of our onion rings. This always happens at Mustards—the price of the best gossip in Napa is time, meatloaf, and tomato-apple ketchup stains. “You won’t believe who’s in town” he sputtered (at least finish the rings first, buddy). 

“You’ve got us. Who’s here?”

“Dwyane Wade...No, don’t roll your eyes. I see that. You won’t guess who he’s here for harvest with.”

“Are we really going to do this? Just get on with it.”

“Jayson Pahlmeyer. They’re gonna make some wine together.”

Wait, that Jayson Pahlmeyer? The Napa legend—a visionary who stopped at nothing to create a “California Mouton?” The one whose first-ever wine received a 94-point score from Robert Parker and who’s earned multiple 100-point scores since? Yeah, that one—and he happened to be friends with legendary basketball player Dwyane Wade, who he was launching Wade Cellars with. We were suddenly very interested.

Now, we know Jayson pretty well, too, and we’ve been pestering him about selling the Wade wines from that day on. All that work paid off today with our exclusive offer on the 2013 Wade Cellars Cabernet—a Napa Cab with Pahlmeyer pedigree that sells for way less than any of Pahlmeyer’s flagship bottlings.

From the moment the deep, purple wine hit our glasses we could smell that no expense had been spared in its production. Waves of black cherry and blueberry fruit wash over the palate, with undercurrents of sweet spice, vanilla, cocoa powder, and clove. Pahlmeyer was mumm about the fruit sources, but there was definitely a fair wack of Oakville fruit here—we could tell this hailed from some of the best vineyards in Napa.

We shouldn’t be surprised, really. Dwyane Wade made his name as one of the most competitive players in the NBA and that drive carries through in his post-playing career. There was no way he was going to make anything less than stellar wine, and his choice of teammate for the project says it all.

Unlike many celebrity-lead wines, Wade Cellars’ Cab is less expensive than its counterparts from the same winemaker. (D-Wade knows how to drive nearly as hard a bargain as we do at Wine Access). At $95, it’s significantly less expensive than Pahlmeyer’s flagship Proprietary Red but is absolutely in the same class.

We’ve got the US exclusive on this 2013 and it’s a wine that Napa enthusiasts need to have in their cellars. Where else can you find top-grade Pahlmeyer-pedigree Napa Cab for under $100?  

It’s a slam dunk. 

(We had to.)