2014 La Sirena Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Ever since she put cult wine Screaming Eagle on the map, the world has been clamoring for Heidi Barrett Cabernet. 

La Sirena is THE Heidi Barrett Cabernet. 

The tiny brand that she founded when her Screaming Eagle and Dalla Valle bottlings were making her the hottest winemaker in California, La Sirena Cabernets capture the 100-point legend’s acumen, passion, and artistry like no other. That’s why we’re thrilled to bring you the 2014 La Sirena Cabernet Sauvignon, straight from her family-run cellars in Calistoga.

One whiff of the aromas that swirl from the ‘14 La Sirena, and there’s no wondering what all the Heidi Barrett fanfare is about. Seductive in its nose of cassis and cocoa, the six-year-aged Cabernet is silky in its palate of blackberry preserves and chocolate accented by dried tobacco, and framed by stern but softening tannins. It’s a wine that “screams of high-quality Cabernet,” according to Jeb Dunnuck—one whose full body, “flawless balance,” and “sexy, approachable style” amount to two words: “Pure class.” 

The price tags on Barrett’s client wineries’ bottles make it clear that collectors are more than willing to pay $300 for her Cabernets. Our first-ever offer from La Sirena comes at 25% off, just $150, a small price to pay for a spectacular bottle from the winemaker who invented cult Cabernet. 

Heidi Barrett has been such a big name for so long, that it can be easy to forget exactly how she rose to fame. The daughter of an artist and scientist/winemaker Richard Peterson, she graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Fermentation Science in 1980. Eight years later, after gaining experience in Australia and at Napa’s Silver Oak and Bouchaine, she decided to go independent and was immediately hired by Gustav Dalla Valle. 

A few years later, Dalla Valle introduced Barrett to some neighbors who wanted to make wine from their newly acquired plot of land. Barrett took the job, and crafted a new wine called Screaming Eagle, which dazzled from the first vintage: When the 1992 was released, Robert Parker gave it a 99-point score—one he later admitted should have been a 100. The world went nuts for Screaming Eagle, but those paying close attention knew the magic belonged to Barrett, whose Dalla Valle red from the same vintage garnered a perfect score from Parker. One vintage, two perfect wines. Barrett was a phenom.  

Just before those wines were released, Barrett and her husband Bo (longtime winemaker for Chateau Montelena) started small-production La Sirena, and for the past quarter-century, the Cabernet has been their crown jewel (in their words). Heidi identifies the blend profile of 91% Cab (with Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cab Franc) as being similar to the Screaming Eagle wines that changed the Cabernet world, and after 22 months in French oak and now four years in bottle, the 2014 is drinking beautifully. 

Secure a bottle to drink soon, or stock your cellar with a true legend’s flagship wine—at a fraction of the cost of comparable bottles. When you drink it is up to you. Just don’t miss out.