2016 Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Teucer Vineyard Coombsville Napa Valley California 750 ml

A Cellar Showpiece and True Show-Stopper

“Just magic.”

That’s how Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate describes Julien Fayard’s 2016 Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Teucer Vineyard Napa Valley, a cellar-worthy showpiece that finds itself on a very short list: It was one of a handful of 2016 Napa Cabernets that racked up a near-perfect 99-point score from the Advocate, which called the wine “full-bodied, super-concentrated yet perfectly balanced.”

Purlieu holds a long-term lease in Robert Parker’s 96-99-point range, which is why most of Julien’s spectacular single-vineyard Cabernets go to loyal clients who won’t give up their spot on his mailing list until the Grim Reaper comes and takes it. But we have a fantastic relationship with Julien—he is one of the highest-rated winemakers on Wine Access—which is why we find ourselves blessed with a tiny allocation of his tiny-production 2016 Teucer Vineyard Cabernet.

The Advocate says it’s “magic.” We say it is exactly what Napa Valley Cabernets aspire to be: A deep purple beauty showing gobs of black fruit, cassis, and baker’s chocolate. Full-bodied with a muscular profile and beautifully integrated tannins, this is a serious head-turner of a Napa Cabernet that has all the makings—99-point score, top-tier winemaker, low allocation—of a rapid sell-out.

When he tasted us on his line of 2016 Cabernets, Julien Fayard, without even knowing it, dropped one of the most profound and pithy nuggets of winemaking wisdom we had ever heard: Producing a fantastic Cabernet is not complicated, he told us. In fact, it requires just two things: site and skill.

The skill aspect, Fayard has covered in spades, as his C.V. reads like the inventory of a Cabernet-lover’s dream cellar: He worked at Château Lafite and Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux before setting his sights on Napa, where he has worked with Philippe Melka on projects like Gemstone, Dalla Valle, and Lail. These projects provided Fayard with a deep understanding of the Valley’s vineyards, which he has converted into legions of fans among Wine Access members.

As for the site—the fact that a particular vineyard has cleared Julien Fayard’s bar is an endorsement in itself, as most of his single-vineyard wines hail from Napa’s most coveted vineyards: Beckstoffer Heritage sites like George III, To Kalon, and Missouri Hopper. To that stunning collection of parcels, add the Teucer Vineyard. Located in the southerly AVA of Coombsville, Teucer is subject to cooler, steadier temperatures than the up-valley AVAs. Steadier temperatures mean the grapes get a longer growing season over which to develop the dazzling aromatic layers mentioned in the Advocate’s 99-point review.

A 99-point Cabernet from a star winemaker and a stellar 98-point vintage: Make no mistake, the 2016 Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Teucer Vineyard Napa Valley will be a cellar showpiece until the day you uncork it—sometime between the day it arrives and 2035—and on that day, it will become a show-stopper. Don’t miss out.