2016 Carte Blanche Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Crafted by Food & Wine Winemaker of the Year Helen Keplinger, Carte Blanche showcases the 100-point talent behind cult Napa labels like Bryant Family Vineyard and Grace Family, as well as the pedigree of proprietor Nicholas Allen: His family’s company, Domaine Clarence Dillon, owns the revered Bordeaux Châteaux Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion—for whose wines collectors eagerly pay $550 and up. 

Carte Blanche means “complete freedom,” an apt name for a project that could have claimed nearly any winemaker in the world, and it speaks volumes that Allen chose Keplinger. She’s one of the few California vintners to grace the cover of Wine Spectator, and she has worked alongside legends Heidi Peterson Barrett, David Abreu, and Michel Rolland.

So far, Allen’s decision has delivered, big time, as the First Growth standards that define Carte Blanche shine through in every sip of the 97-point 2016 Cabernet. Sourced from the Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard in Oakville, brooding and deep in color, and after nearly two years in 100% new French oak, it’s bursting with blackcurrant, black cherry, mocha, pencil lead, and Maduro tobacco. Those aromas lead into ripe blackberry, toast, and crushed stone flavors, all carried on a muscular frame supported by supple tannins. 

This is a hauntingly seductive Cabernet that stands with the very best of Napa Valley—and the kind of quality that collectors spend unlimited amounts pursuing. We strongly suggest that anyone with a taste for Napa cult wines revel in this one, experience what Helen Keplinger can do at this relatively humble price, then decide whether it’s necessary to spend two or three times as much on a competing Cabernet.  

Like the best of Bordeaux, the 2016 Carte Blanche will thrive in the cellar. Jeb Dunnuck, in his 97-point review, noted Carte Blanche’s “remarkable purity of fruit” and “beautiful intensity and length” before prescribing: “Do your best to give this some bottle age, and you’ll be rewarded with a phenomenal Napa Valley Cabernet that will keep for 2-3 decades.”

Aged for 22 months in Darnajou, Taransaud, and Sylvain barrels, this is a gorgeous example of what happens when prime Cabernet from a revered heritage site gets its due in the hands of one of the area’s great winemakers. It’s a bottle that doesn’t give up an inch to those for which collectors pay $300 and up—but with only 500 cases made, the supply is dwindling. We suggest you claim yours now, and thank yourself later.