2017 Dalla Valle Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Thanks to a fantastic relationship with Naoko and Maya Dalla Valle, and Dalla Valle winemaker Andy Erickson, we secured a rare allocation of Dalla Valle's stunning Napa Cabernet, a showpiece normally reserved for Michelin-starred restaurants and Dalla Valle’s mailing list. A highly-rated, age-worthy masterpiece this will, as always, come to you directly from the cool Dalla Valle cellars.

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville features a rich interplay of plums and spice. Wine Advocate adored its, “Full-bodied, rich and spicy," texture, plus "soft, plush, well-played tannins,” in their 95-point review. We love the exciting spark of acidity that pierces through the finish in this gorgeous wine. We recommend giving it a decant while the winter roast braises in the oven or just before steaks hit the grill, and settling in for a simply remarkable pairing.

Not long ago, over lunch with Naoko and Maya Dalla Valle to seal the deal on this, we discovered to our surprise that, even with their name on some of the greatest bottles America has ever seen, they’re just as enthusiastic about the wines as we are. Over the course of a leisurely two-plus hour lunch at Gramercy Tavern, we were prepared to enjoy the wines, sure, but to sip them the way most glasses of iconic red get consumed: Gingerly, and with a sense of ceremony.

Nope: Naoko and Maya kept our glasses full, insisting that we enjoy them fully. The 2017 Napa Valley stole the show—no easy feat amongst their standout releases—with its exotic spice aromas, supported by blackberry, cassis, and smoke, and a cashmere-smooth texture. After waxing poetic about its irresistible plum, blueberry, and blackberry fruit and remarkable freshness, they even sent us home with the leftovers. Which meant that we became what we imagine were the only people in our hotel that night enjoying highly allocated wine, from a 100-point-scoring producer, on our couches with room-service hamburgers. Which, for the record, was an epic pairing.

We can’t stress this enough: Dalla Valle, one of the greatest of California’s cult producers, is virtually impossible to get your hands on. Aside from a handful of top restaurants (The French Laundry, for example, lists bottles of Dalla Valle for up to $1,500 each), members of their mailing list buy virtually all of the remaining bottles.

And if you want to get on the mailing list—well, good luck. First, you’ll have to pause for years on the waiting list before finally (if ever) receiving notification that you’ve been granted the privilege of buying directly from the winery. As a result, new releases rarely hit the retail market, and back vintages are among the most highly prized at auction houses around the world.

Which are just a few of the thousand reasons that we are beyond proud to be able to offer the 2017 Dalla Valle Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.