2016 Grand Napa Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Grand Napa Vineyards enjoys a prime spot in the Cabernet mecca of Rutherford—neighboring legends like Grgich, Staglin, and Beaulieu Vineyard. And we can thank that blessed location, and one of the top Napa Valley vintages in history, for one of the greatest Napa bargains we’ve ever offered: The 2016 Grand Napa Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which boasts a 93+-point Wine Advocate rating that puts it alongside big-name Cabernets like Axios ($150) and icon Nickel & Nickel’s Hayne Vineyard bottling ($104).

Considering the prices that Cabernets of this stature command, Grand Napa Vineyards’ 2016 Reserve would be a rock-solid buy at its $110 SRP. But at today’s price on Wine Access—more than 54% off at $50—it’s an absurd bargain. For what you’d pay for just three bottles of a similar Napa Cabernet, you can sock away a full case of winemaker Dwight Bonewell’s stellar 93+-point red.

“Delicious and one of the best Wine Access wines I have had,” raved one of the Wine Access members who got in on our last allocation of the 2016 Reserve. “So impressed that I find myself needing a special occasion to drink it because I don’t want to run out.” It’s an endorsement and sound advice: Don’t underestimate how often you’ll be tempted to crack a bottle open, so stock up. We are. 

“The garnet-black colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley comes charging out of the gate with gregarious scents of black raspberries, red and black currants and blackberry compote,” said Wine Advocate in their 93+-point review. We were absolutely captivated by how the Reserve’s effusive palate of juicy cassis, blackberry, and black cherry slides into tannins supple enough for early drinking, but with the structure to support several years in the bottle. 

You can credit the 2016 Reserve’s healthy dose of the “Rutherford dust” to Grand Napa Vineyards home among the giants of that famed AVA, and that character is complemented by fruit from Grand Napa Vineyards’ tightly guarded sources in St. Helena and Yountville. The 2016 was smoothed out with 22 months in 60% new French oak, giving it that spice and silky, approachable texture that has us eager to open our bottles immediately.

This is the kind of buy-it-to-believe-it bargain that has us thinking back to the good old days of under-$50 high-quality Napa Cabernet. But on second thought, maybe the good old days haven’t quite disappeared.