2017 Claire Griffin Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Thanks to our longstanding Napa Valley relationships, we are well-positioned when winemakers need to move their wine fast. That’s how we ended up with this crazy deal on the velvety, beautifully layered 2017 Claire Griffin Cabernet Sauvignon from an incredible source on Napa Valley’s famed Pritchard Hill. Well worth every penny of its $100 SRP, we have the exclusive on it today for $40.

Known only to a few among our Napa circles, Claire Griffin is made by an extremely well-established 100-point winemaker who makes 100% Cabernet Sauvignon under this Claire Griffin label. Those who know what it is snap it up immediately whenever she makes it available. It’s made entirely using Pritchard Hill Cabernet that’s intended for the reserve blend at her day job—where her 98-point 2017 flagship wine is currently selling for $700+.

From “one of Napa Valley's most coveted addresses,” according to Wine Spectator, we knew when we got the call about this wine that we had gotten lucky, and that was even before we tasted it:

A lavish bouquet draws you in with perfumed violet and rose, while dark chocolate and wild berry slowly unfurl in the background. Broadly textured and bright, luscious cherry and black currant flirt with layers of cocoa and espresso, coaxing out hints of new leather and toasty vanilla oak.

A subtle undercurrent of cola and licorice provides an impressive layer of complexity, while the finely integrated tannins and lingering mineral drive suggest a wine of serious provenance. The 2017 Claire Griffin Cabernet Sauvignon has all the power and verve you’d expect from a $100 wine, and the serious winemaking chops behind it.

The famed Pritchard Hill winery’s owner lets our winemaker friend make Claire Griffin with the Cabernet that doesn’t make the final $700 reserve—a bonus to her contract as a reward for her first 100-point score. The Cabernet comes from all the same hallowed vineyard sources that supply the reserve blend, and we have to say, this 2017 Claire Griffin tastes pretty darn similar to its $700+ sibling.

Probably since they come from the same famous terroir. Pritchard Hill lies east of Rutherford in the Vaca Mountain foothills. Its rugged slopes are marked by volcanic soils strewn with boulders and rocks, making for well-drained vineyards full of mineral content, which give wines like the 2017 Claire Griffin their layered complexity, earthy undercurrent, and unmistakable power.

Named in homage to the winemaker’s speakeasy-loving grandmother (a notorious 1920s Bay Area flapper), Claire Griffin’s label is a nod to the intentional air of mystery around this Cabernet. And indeed, given its famous origins, Claire Griffin can only ever be a hand-sell to those who know. That’s usually not a problem so long as its winemaker is slinging it, but she didn’t have the time to make her rounds this year before she needed to bottle the new vintage.

That’s how we ended up with the exclusive on this gorgeous and heady 2017 Cabernet for a third of its usual price.