2016 The Illegitimate Cuvee Non Autorisee Red Wine California 750 ml

An Auction Record, 100-Point Winemaker, and an Unauthorized Blend

The 2016 The Illegitimate, produced by VGS Chateau Potelle and its 100-point winemaker Kale Anderson, was crafted like a collector’s wine but priced to open without hesitation. The inky, rich, and infinitely gulpable California “Cuvée Non-Autorisée” breaks all the rules of the proprietor’s native France by building a voluptuous blend around Zinfandel, Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah.

This is not a shy wine—it’s a juicy, floral, and brambly blend that will thrill fans of The Prisoner, which goes for twice as much. It checks all the boxes for those looking for an unapologetic California red that is meant to be opened with good friends. Open a bottle, and you will understand why at Wine Access we buy this by the case.

While enjoying a glass of this fruit-forward and satisfying wine, we couldn’t help but think about proprietor Jean-Noël Fourmeaux du Sarte. After all, when Jean-Noël first came to California from France, it was as a wine spy for the French government.

His mission was to taste the wines being made in Napa Valley and send his impressions back to his waiting co-conspirators on the continent. But, Jean-Noël was moved to stay—not only because of the weather; not only because he was impressed with the trajectory of the cuisine in California; but because in California he would be free to make the wines he wanted, free from the strictures put in place by French winemaking laws.

Fourmeaux’s flagship brand, VGS Chateau Potelle, has won a devoted following with Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Cabernet from Mount Veeder. Auction Napa Valley 2018 proved it: when the final gavel fell, it brought a record tumbling down with it, when a barrel of 2016 VGS Chateau Potelle red blend went for a staggering $114,300—more than $952.50 per bottle.

With The Illegitimate, Fourmeaux and Kale Anderson have embraced the variety of California’s plantings and the looseness of the state’s labeling laws, which give license to creative winemakers who want to blend grape varieties across multiple regions. Fourmeaux jokes that, in his tradition-bound home country, making a wine like this “unauthorized blend” would land him in jail.

The prison image may be apt: The 2016 Cuvée Non-Autorisée will please fans of The Prisoner. It is a super-juicy and rich blend built around a core of ripe Zinfandel, and structured by Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah. This is an anytime wine without rules, inky and inviting and full of lush blueberry and cherry. Stack it by the case, and open among friends.