2016 Idiosyncrasy Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Wine Access members know that we’ll go anywhere to bring the best to our customers. But today’s groundbreaking Cabernet started right here in Napa Valley—over a bottle of Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, to be precise. We were at Bouchon with Purlieu winemaker Julien Fayard, toasting the Wine Access debut of his Le Pich Cabernet, which had just blown past our lofty expectations to become one of the member-favorites of the year. It was then and there that the idea took hold: What if we enlisted Fayard, the decorated winemaker who now has some of the top-rated Wine Access wines of all time to his name, to craft an exclusive label? 

Normally, we’d be too afraid to ask Julien—a man with experience at Château Lafite and Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux, and Dalla Valle and Lail in Napa, where bottle prices start at $300 and climb skyward—point-blank about a value Cab project. But Taittinger has a way of relaxing our inhibitions, and we blurted out, “We really love your wines, want to make one together?” 

To our surprise (and delight, if we’re being honest), Julien turned toward us with a sly look in his piercing blue eyes: “What are you thinking? I just don’t want to make something average.” 

Idiosyncrasy was born. Julien insisted on using Cabernet Sauvignon and developing an entire line of wines—not just one—to showcase how delicious Napa Valley can be for $40. 

Today, his 2016 Idiosyncrasy Napa Valley is a snapshot of the stunning 2016 vintage. One happy Wine Access member declared: “This is one of the best wines I have tried from Wine Access!” Bursting with ripe fruit aromatics, the 2016 is cashmere smooth, and blends vanilla, clove, freshly-cracked black pepper, and polished leather with just-picked fruit flavors.

The year was another standout in Napa Valley, which Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate hailed as “outstanding.” Fayard called the 2016 “ripe and seductive. It’s sexy and soft, with supple tannins that make it perfect for early drinking.”

Fayard-crafted Cabernets can cost a mint, so how are we able to bring the ripe, complex, and silky 2016 Idiosyncrasy Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley to you for just $40? Because part of the beauty of Idiosyncrasy is what it doesn’t involve: no marketers and no middlemen clamoring for their cut. According to Fayard, making a great, affordable Napa Cabernet requires two main things: sourcing, and skill. The first we’ve got covered. For the second, we’ve got Fayard. 

We knew that launching an exclusive label would require us to work hand-in-glove with the winemaker, and there is no one we would rather work with than Julien. It’s not just his credentials, but his character: No matter how in-demand he is, no matter how many irons he has in the fire, Julien is unfailingly calm, warm, and humble. If a wine’s personality—some are overblown, some are ostentatious, some are high-strung—reflects that of its maker, it’s no surprise that Julien’s wines are generous, open, and honest. 

The 2016 Idiosyncrasy has those virtues in spades.