2015 Grgich Hills Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Napa Valley 750 ml

From the historic estate enshrined in Napa Valley legend, the 2015 Grgich Hills Estate Cabernet Sauvignon—winning a whopping 96 points—captures the thrill of Napa’s halcyon early days.  

In the glass, this wine unfolds like a timeless Napa classic, and is the rare icon that manages to deliver a chart-topping performance without a record-breaking price. 

The 2015 bursts with density and concentration courtesy of the low-yielding vintage, which inspired Vinous founder Antonio Galloni to call the releases “The best wines I have tasted from Grgich Hills,” adding “It's great to see wines of this level and potential coming out of Grgich Hills, which, as readers know, is one of the historic names in Napa Valley.”

Decanter went even further at the World Wine Awards, awarding Grgich 96 points for its “sumptuous” character and “wonderful” palate of dried herbs and intense black fruit flavors. Drenched in blackcurrants, bramble, and crushed violets, it’s a rock-solid investment that could cellar for another 20 years.

Croatian immigrant Mike Grgich stepped into Napa Valley mythos in 1976 when he bested Domaine Leflaive, Joseph Drouhin, and other famous Burgundy producers at the Judgment of Paris, winning the prize of greatest white wine in the world. It was, in fact, an even more unlikely story than it seemed on its face. Born to a family of winemakers, Grgich had been told by a professor that a kind of vine-growing paradise existed far away on the west coast of America. Fleeing communism, Grgich made it to California in 1958 with a single suitcase, and $32 sewed into his shoe.

A priceless viticultural education followed as he worked his way up through pioneering estates like Souverain Winery, Beaulieu Vineyard, and Mondavi, where he honed his Cabernet-making skills. He spent years absorbing lessons from visionary Russian-born grape whisperer André Tchelistcheff, and it was during Grgich’s time as winemaker at Chateau Montelena that his unexpected victory over the aristocratic vignerons of France changed his life forever.

A nonagenarian today, Grgich has passed control of the estate to his daughter Violet and winemaker Ivo Jeramaz. Achieving a freshness and energy born of organically farmed grapes and indigenous yeasts, the 2015 Cabernet is a classic expression of Napa, framed by tradition and Grgich’s trademark elegance. This Cabernet Sauvignon hails primarily from the Yountville vineyard, and is rounded out with grapes from the estate’s Rutherford and Calistoga properties. Twenty-one months in French oak give this Cab a remarkable polish and finesse, and a bouquet tinged with warm baking spices.

Mike’s own Grgich Hills winery has, for four decades, been producing the kind of Cabernet Sauvignon that lives up to the expectations he set with his Judgement of Paris-winning wine in 1976. The 96-point 2015 Grgich Hills Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon is proof.