2016 Italics Winegrowers Sixteen Appellations Napa Valley 750 ml

Italics Winegrowers' Sixteen Appellations has been one of our breakout stars in the last couple of years—a totally unique Napa wine that captured the hearts and palates of Wine Access members. To our knowledge—and please let us know if we’re mistaken—there is no other Cabernet-based wine that includes grapes from ALL 16 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in Napa Valley at this quality level. The 2016, from the best Napa vintage since 1997, takes that quality to a new level.

Italics takes the cuvée concept to dizzying, almost unbelievable heights—but when a Winemaker of the Year like Marbue Marke is in charge, impossibilities become possible. The vineyard sources are among the absolute best from each AVA: top-scoring vineyards like Robert Keenan on Spring Mountain, Blackbird in Oak Knoll, and Annapurna in the Stags Leap District. The rest we can’t disclose because the grapes that go to Italics come from blue-chip sites that “never sell their fruit,” according to Marke. “They love our project though, and our relationships with these growers run deep,” he added.

So, while those wines typically fetch $150-$250, Marke’s singular snapshot of Napa is a mere $75 upon release from the winery—and this year we've got even better pricing than in the past. That's all thanks to our members’ intense support of Italics’ wines—which have inspired reviews that declared "Wish I had bought more" and prompted a flurry of reorders.

What's more, the 2016 hails from an even better vintage than its predecessors.

2016 is one of those years in Napa that will go down in wine lovers' folklore—think 1982 in Bordeaux or 2005 in Burgundy and you’re in the same ballpark. Wine Spectator thinks it’s the best year since the legendary 1997, and praised the “intense fruit" of the year's wines while bestowing a 98-point score on the vintage. Italics' broad approach to Napa captured every bit of that glorious weather into the best version of Sixteen Appellations yet.

Aromatically, the 2016 leaps out of the glass with an intoxicating mixture of wildflowers, Brooks plums, and sun-kissed blackberry vines. The palate is smooth, yet muscular, with an intensity of flavor we expect from the highest tier of Napa bottlings—massive cassis flavors and non-sweet cocoa compete with hints of vanilla, black raspberries, and spice on the palate before a long finish that marks this wine as one of the finest of its ilk.

We discovered the elegant, inky Sixteen Appellations blend a few years ago, when we found ourselves clinking glasses with an elite crowd of winemakers in downtown Napa for a film screening. Aaron Pott, Julien Fayard, and Heidi Barrett were among the stars in the crowd.

The movie, Decanted, which featured the aforementioned winemakers, was, in the end, all about the brand Italics, and the journey to produce a wine that could offer a true snapshot of Napa Valley. No one in the room knew that was the film’s outcome, and of course, we were skeptical. But after the credits rolled, the lights came on, and our glasses were filled with their initial effort—total fireworks.

The San Francisco-based wine and spirits journal Bonfort’s named Marke its 2019 U.S. Winemaker of the Year, which only underscored what we’ve known for close to a decade, since his days at Caldwell Vineyards: He’s the real deal.

From the vineyard sourcing to the vintage to the all-star winemaker, there are very few wines in the class of Italics' 2016 Sixteen Appellations—especially at our price. The decadent blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot will be the highlight of any meal from the first glass poured. We’ll say it again: This is Napa Valley in a single bottle.