2014 AXR Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

A Globe-Trotting Talent Takes On California...And Wins

It’s not that 94-point Napa Valley Cabernets from the spectacular 2014 vintage are hard to find—they just happen to cost hundreds of dollars. That’s why the 2014 AXR Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, which packs 94 points from Robert Parker into a bottle that costs well under $100, deserves your attention.

The man behind the bottle is Jean Hoefliger, the winemaker best known for Napa’s Alpha Omega winery and who has impressed both Robert Parker and Jeb Dunnuck with 100-point performances. Sourced from stellar fruit from a single-vineyard site in Calistoga and a 1,500-foot vineyard on Atlas Peak, the 2014 AXR is “richly fruity, full-bodied,” and “opulent,” according to Parker, whose score puts it alongside one-percenter Napa Valley Cabernets like Alejandro Bulgheroni, Eisele Vineyard, and Staglin wines that start at $225 and skyrocket from there.

If you’re looking for a stellar 2014 Napa Cab, you can score a lone bottle of one of those showpieces, you can sock away multiple bottles of Hoefliger’s latest gem. It’s up to you. 

Hoefliger is a true globe-hopping talent. After getting a viticultural degree in Switzerland, he did formative stints in Bordeaux at Château Carbonnieux and Château Lynch-Bages. Turning his focus to the New World, he made two perfect wines under The Debate label, several 98-pointers at Alpha Omega, a slew of impressive wines with Newton and Michel Rolland. He has also consulted as winemaker as far afield as Meerlust in South Africa. 

For all his travels, Hoefliger’s home base is California, where the diversity of soils and the consistent climate have provided him with a platform to show off his skills. The 2014 AXR is sourced from the Hossfeld Vineyard on Atlas Peak and the Montgomery Vineyard in Calistoga. After vinification, the Cabernet is aged in 70 percent new oak for 23 months, which yields a Cabernet bursting with ripe berries and underpinned by classic Napa Cabernet hallmarks of mocha, vanilla, and toasted oak. This wine is drinking beautifully now, and will age gracefully over the next decade. Consider the score and consider the competition.