2015 Addax Tench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 750 ml

Limited Oakville Stunner, Hard to Find, Available to You

Russell Bevan is practically Mr. Perfect, having landed Wine Spectator’s coveted 2015 Winemaker of the Year title, he’s the author of multitude Parker 100-point wines for his own Bevan Cellars. The venerable critic has praised Bevan for “his serious insider knowledge, which gives him access to some great sources.” Case in point is his Addax Cabernet—a brand that quietly inserted itself into the Napa circuit of instant-legend Cabernets. Since its launch with the 2009 vintage, Cabernet production has hovered right around 100 cases.

Of the four barrels made of the 2015 Addax Tench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon—we have roughly one barrel. And if there’s one thing to know about Tench, it’s this, courtesy of Spectator: “The Tench Vineyard, which shares a fence line with both Screaming Eagle and Rudd, has been the source of grapes going into bottlings for Nickel & Nickel, Quivet Cellars and Bevan Cellars.” Talk about terroir pedigree. 95 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, which hails it as “full-bodied, rich, ripe, and seductive.” 

Vinous’ Antonio Galloni said it best: “Russell Bevan is one of the more outspoken producers in Napa Valley, and so are his wines.” Ask the larger-than-life Bevan about his success, however, and he’ll passionately point out his knack for making 95- to 100-point wines stem from years of carefully learning about the craft from Greg La Follette, Philip Togni, Robert Foley, and Kal Showket. Doing so required a big leap—he and his longtime companion Victoria De Crecenzo left Minneapolis and careers in the dental industry in 1999 to pursue greater wine knowledge. A bold move? Definitely, but one that paid off. His bevy of perfect scores is proof enough that the student is now the master.

Only top wineries like Addax are allowed access in Tench Vineyards. This exclusiveness isn’t because they’re Screaming Eagle’s neighbors or because they’re located in Napa Valley’s world-renowned Oakville appellation. The Tench family trusts their fruit only to those who will properly express the characteristics of Tench’s sublime mix of clay and volcanic rock. Bevans’ resume makes it easy to see why he’s earned their trust, and his Addax Cabernet shows the kind of deep-fruited purity, mineral-grip, and multidimensional complexities that the Tench family prizes in wines produced from their vines.

2015 was an “extraordinary” year for Napa Cabernet Sauvignon according to Parker’s Advocate. For Bevan, that translate to voluptuous, decadence, and a wine that slowly unfurls ribbons of black fruit—this is the type of Cabernet Sauvignon that inspires bragging rights among oenophiles fortunate to have a bottle in their cellar.