2016 Palmaz Vineyards Gaston Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Making the list at The French Laundry or Per Se is a career achievement for most wineries. In its relatively young history, Palmaz Vineyards has found a home at both restaurants, putting their meticulously crafted Cabernets in the rarefied company of Château Lafite-Rothschild, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, and the other greats that have anchored these renowned wine programs on both coasts.

Late last year, we offered Palmaz’s laser-precise, estate-grown Cabernet, which Wine Access members claimed in short order. Because of that response, Palmaz has granted us the only retail allocation in the country of their rare mailing list-only 2016 Gaston Cabernet.

This is the first-ever offer of Gaston outside of the Palmaz wine club, and it is the absolute pinnacle of their stunning property and state-of-the-art winemaking. Drawn from the best lots of Cabernet on the vineyard, this wine is made and released only when the Palmaz family believes it will live up to its designation as the estate’s very best. 

Featuring a focused intensity and rich texture, the expressive bouquet is led by freshly picked violets, faint tobacco notes, and vanilla. The palate evokes blueberry pie with roasted espresso and dark chocolate. With muscular depth and elegance, every inky sip shows the heights Napa terroir can reach when the Valley’s top minds come together. 

This bottling was fine-tuned from bud-break to bottling by 100-point mastermind Mia Klein (who has earned a string of 100-point ratings over the course of her work with Dalla Valle, Spottswoode, Viader, and Araujo), Tina Mitchell (a student of André Tchelistcheff), and founders Amalia and Dr. Julio Palmaz, who together are re-writing the book on what it takes to make world-class Cabernet.

Normally available exclusively to the Palmaz mailing list, we’re the only ones in the nation with this rare no-compromises Cabernet—one that competes with the most famous cult wines in Napa Valley. It’s $200 per bottle, $20 off SRP, and we’ve got just ten cases. This is your chance to skip the waiting list and gild your cellar with Napa Valley’s most finely-tuned Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s an indulgence that’s worth every dime, and then some. 

The first time we tasted Palmaz was at a casual gathering at PRESS Napa Valley, the St. Helena haunt known for its deep reserves of Napa Cabernet. Even amidst classics like Bond St. Eden, Dunn, and Diamond Creek, the Palmaz stood out as exceptional and unique. It was by far our favorite bottle of the night. 

Our dining companions insisted Palmaz was off-limits to retailers—something we weren’t so quick to accept. The next day, we called co-founder Amalia Palmaz to look into securing a share of Palmaz’s stellar Cabernet for our members—and our Cabernet enthusiasts and Bordeaux collectors snapped up the must-have bottling.

Palmaz channels Napa terroir like no other wine because the vineyard and winery are managed with technology reminiscent of a NASA control room, which no other winery in Napa has at their disposal. The team uses aerial mapping of their cover crops and laser-precise farming protocols to ensure the optimal health of every single vine on the 64 planted acres of the Coombsville property. They leverage science to help make a Cabernet that perfectly translates their impeccable terroir into liquid form. 

After harvest, their exacting approach only accelerates: At the heart of the winery, surrounded by custom fermentation tanks, Klein, Mitchell, and Palmaz can project real-time fermentation data—including thermal imaging—onto a digital control board to monitor each lot 24/7, and deliver absolute precision into every bottle, which gives this Cabernet the edge over its luxury neighbors like Realm’s Farella Vineyard and Rewa.  

After fermentation, Klein and Mitchell add a touch of art to the science, aging this Cabernet for 19 months in 100% new French oak. Built on the estate’s finest lots of Cabernet, Gaston perfectly expresses the fusion of world-class terroir, tradition, and technology. Wine Access members have earned this opportunity to taste a Cabernet that competes with the top cult wines in Napa Valley for a fraction of the price. We sincerely hope you’ll take advantage—this is truly a wine like no other.