2015 On Q Cadence Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville 750 ml

Opening the Vault: A Napa Insider’s Cabernet

We have said this before: there is the Napa everybody knows—Mondavi Private Reserve, Caymus Special Select, and the big names that won the Judgment of Paris and put Napa Valley on the map—and there is the Napa that the insiders know. The valley where the same accomplished winemakers responsible for headline-grabbing, big-name wines sneak off and produce tiny bottlings that rarely see a retail shelf or a restaurant wine list: Wines like On Q, today’s Wine Access Exclusive release.

It is a deep purple Cabernet Sauvignon, showing tons of cassis and crushed violets, a sleek but muscular mouthfeel, and a base line of espresso and tobacco notes. Don’t miss out: the 2015 On Q Cadence Cabernet is the handiwork of a rising star, at a price that, in a few years, will leave you shaking your head—$54.99 on cases.

The label was started by Napa native Steve Brady, who produced the first few releases of On Q, before raising the game by hiring Julien Fayard, now one of Napa’s most renowned Cabernet craftsmen. Fayard eventually passed the torch to another rising star whose resume bears some of the most formidable names in Napa: Maayan Koschitzky.

California Cab lovers, memorize that name— this man may be Napa Valley’s next big thing, and today his wines are available for half the price of top-scoring bottles.

Koschitzky didn’t waste any time staining his hands red with Napa’s best Cabernet Sauvignon, leaping into Screaming Eagle as his first job in Napa Valley. Next, he was director of winemaking for Philippe Melka at Atelier Melka and Melka Wines. Now, he is calling the shots at On Q, and his expert touch has spread some royal Cabernet DNA to the tiny-production 2015 On Q Cadence Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville.

Nothing but the best will do at On Q, and that’s exactly what we sensed when we first tasted the 2015 Cadence Cabernet Sauvignon by the glass at Morimoto in Napa. Sourced from the On Q property in the cool, rolling hills of Coombsville, the 2015 hails from a 97-point vintage in Napa and garnered stellar reviews from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and James Suckling, who called it “soft, silky, and lively,” and “ripe and subtly earthy,” respectively.

On Q wine is a Napa insider steal, through and through: Hailing from one of Napa’s greatest vintages in memory, the fruit is sourced from Coombsville, the up-and-coming AVA whose profile has been raised by another Screaming Eagle alum, Andy Erickson, who along with his wife Annie Favia chose to base their flagship Favia brand there. Koschitzky ferments 100% Cabernet Sauvignon in stainless steel, then gives it a luxurious 27 months in 60 percent new French oak.

Brady and Koschitzky produced a mere 242 cases of Cadence, and a good portion of those go to Morimoto, the Napa mainstay restaurant where it is featured by the glass. That’s where we first experienced it: the dark red and black fruits, the dense and elegant mouthfeel, and the bass notes of espresso and tobacco. It is classic, small production Napa Cabernet, and the next time you’re in the Valley, you can give it a try at Morimoto—for $30 a glass. Or get it today for far less.