2014 Carl Roy Cabernet Sauvignon East Side Cuvee 750 ml

Dream Vintage Client Favorite Napa Cabernet

When it comes to under-$40 Napa Cabernets, few have lit up the Wine Access scoreboard like Carl Roy’s “East Side Cuvée.” Past vintages racked up a combined 726 4- and 5-star ratings. Back by popular demand, we stand by the 2014 Carl Roy “East Side Cuvée” as the finest $24 bottle of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon available. Drawn from a rocky parcel in blue-chip St. Helena, a stone’s throw from Heitz, Pahlmeyer and Tuck-Beckstoffer. Massively concentrated with lavish aromas of blackberry, mountain blueberry preserves, and new-wood cedar, plush and velour-like in texture, bracketed by sturdy tannins — the calling card of St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon. Compared to the going rate of $60+ along Highway 29, just $24 per bottle today, exclusively on Wine Access.

Shortly after Wine Access clients got their first shot at the 2014 “East Side Cuvée” the ratings poured in. With a startling average of 4.2 stars out of 5, 2014 has rated higher than Carl Roy’s 2012 and 2013 “East Side Cuvées.” That’s 2012, a vintage that earned 96 points from both Parker and Wine Spectator, and 2013, Parker’s “greatest vintage in 37 years.”

Wine Spectator called 2014 a “dream vintage, with quality along the lines of 2012 and 2013.” Comparatively, 2014 may be a perfect marriage of its two predecessors — darker and more concentrated than 2012, but more approachable than many tightly knit 2013s, though with enough acidity arguing for longer-term drinking. Back by popular demand is the wine that has dropped jaws vintage after vintage — maybe none finer than this 2014, the greatest bargain of the vintage.