2015 The Paring Red 750 ml

Showing its first-class DNA in every sip, The Paring Red is one of the great values available in California. Winemaker Matt Dees meticulously crafts the Cab-dominant blend from the same sources that supply his $145+ JONATA lineup, resulting in a vastly overdelivering red that top steakhouses pour for $20+ per glass—when they can their hands on it. 

“These are some of the best values out there and readers should snatch them up,” critic Jeb Dunnuck said about The Paring. Boasting 92-point scores from Dunnuck and Wine Enthusiast, the 2015 shows why this is one of our “must-get” wines, even though that’s much easier said than done. This is the first shot we’ve had at it in two years—and we know for a fact that the Wine Access members who snapped up our last offer with impressive alacrity have had it on their minds since then.   

In the glass, you get the level of detail and high standards you’d expect from the family that owns Screaming Eagle, and whose JONATA reds Robert Parker called “mind-boggling.” Deep ruby-purple in the glass, it boasts big and complex aromas of blackberry pie, dried cherry, clove, mulling spices, toast, cedar, and dried violets. With a couple years of bottle age, the palate is weighty but gorgeously supple, loaded with powdery and softening tannins and finishing with black fruit, olive tapenade, and toast. 

At $25, this is an impeccable California red that can’t hide its noble origins. 

The Paring is all about pedigree, and there’s nowhere better to start than with Matt Dees. The Kansas City-raised winemaker landed in Napa at Staglin in 2001, the same day 100-point winemaker Andy Erickson (Arietta, Favia, and Dalla Valle) started. Dees soaked in all he could from Erickson, but the work he’s done since has proven him a rockstar winemaker in his own right. 

We were able to get out of Napa Valley for a short road trip last month, and a visit to Dees was first on our list. At a distance, we walked through one of the gorgeous and biodiverse Ballard Canyon sites that grow grapes for Jonata and for The Paring, which Matt calls his “definition of over-delivering.” 

“These are exceptional lots of grapes, and to make the cut, we try to select lots that offer more immediate drinking appeal,” he said, about what makes The Paring fruit stand out. “We select and reselect, looking for elegance, power, density, and freshness.” 

The owners of JONATA, The Hilt Estate, and The Paring first planted vines in Santa Barbara in 2000, sparing no expense—and later bought Screaming Eagle in Oakville, continuing the tradition of high-level attention to detail that began at JONATA. Matt’s had the same assistant winemaker, Drew Pickering, for over a decade, and cellarmaster Humberto Ramos has been by his side for even longer. The vines are tended by Santa Barbara grape whisperer Ruben Solorzano, so there’s a ton of experience contributing to The Paring from all angles. 

No wonder it’s a quick sell-out when we get it, and why it’s known as one of the best bargains in California Cabernet blends.