2013 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Leonardini Vineyard Napa Valley 750 ml

Wine Access history is full of phenomenal Napa Cabernets that have left members banging down the door for more, but only one can claim the #1 best-seller title: Whitehall Lane. As a result, we were able to grab a few cases of their rare, winery-direct 2013 Leonardini Vineyard Cab, a gracefully aged, back-vintage prize at an outstanding price.

Crafted from just six rows of the estate’s prized St. Helena vineyard during a “flawless” vintage, this is a robust Cab that’s used every bit of its eight years in the cellar to develop intimate nuances, pulling us further into its dark-fruited depths with every sip. A spectacular exhibition of spot-on cellaring, Wine Spectator praised it as “complex and detailed,” and James Suckling called it “very refined.” 

We have just 65 cases, straight from Whitehall Lane’s cellars. Typically, you’d need to shell out $130 for it. But no so today. Single-vineyard St. Helena Cabs from one of the decade’s best vintages rarely come at a discount like this, especially when they’re crafted by such a widely-lauded estate. 

Our virtual shelves and Wine Team tastings aren’t the only places where Whitehall Lane is a star. They’ve got a stop-and-stare critical trophy case, boasting several back-to-back appearances on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list—including three in the top five—and a Wine & Spirits Winery of the Year award. 

Unsurprisingly, their back-vintage Cabernets are incredibly elusive. But Wine Access members’ enthusiasm for previous offers (and a little friendly negotiating with our friend, Whitehall Lane’s Tom Leonardini II) secured us a tiny share of this single-vineyard sensation. 

If there was ever a vintage to cellar Napa Cabs, it was 2013, when a long, dry summer imbued grapes with intense concentration. Wine Enthusiast said that the 2013 Napa Cabernets “show the stuff that cellaring dreams are made of,” and those dreams are realized in this Leonardini Vineyard bottling—which shows the richness and gentle tannins that mark St. Helena’s top Cabs. 

It comes from just six top rows within the estate’s Leonardini Vineyard in St. Helena. Whitehall Lane has several vineyards in coveted locations across St. Helena and Rutherford, yet this is the one that bears the family’s name. And this Cab comes from its absolute best vines. 

Whenever we meet Tom for lunch, it seems we leave with a Wine Access sellout in the works. Even among the tantalizing aromas of Bolognese pasta and Tagliata Steak on the table, the wine’s layered purple flower, bay leaf, and leather aromas caught our attention. Our first sip, full of dark berries and cassis, had us glancing at Tom with raised eyebrows and “you’ve done it again” smiles. Several years of careful cellaring had elevated an already-stellar Cab to new heights.  

He knew our question before we even asked. “There’s not a lot left,” he said, hesitant. But after we reminded him of our members’ rabid devotion to Whitehall Lane, he relented a few of the remaining cases, and we’re thrilled to offer them today.