2017 Kukeri Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District Napa Valley 750 ml

Mountain Cabernets are some of the most sought-after wines coming out of Napa today, packing as much full-throttle power as you’ll find anywhere, yet restrained by big alpine structure and scintillating acidity. These aren’t delicate, shy wines—squeezed from vines that have had to struggle to produce every last drop, they burst with energy and character, the chewy texture imbued with rich, full tannins and deep, dark fruit, edged with tobacco and mineral complexity.

Kukeri winemaker Petar Kirilov loves Napa mountain Cabs like we do—loves them so much, in fact, that he moved out to Napa from his native Bulgaria to make them. This 2017 is his fifth vintage, an absolutely classic Spring Mountain expression that vibrates with tiny berry concentration and puts forth a brooding bouquet of black and blue fruit and licorice. 

Knowing that Wine Access members love Cabernets from Napa’s great mountain AVAs, Kirilov allowed us to take half of the 150 case micro-production of this wine and offer it to our members at a rate that’s unheard of for a Spring Mountain release of this pedigree, as an introduction to the Kukeri line.

Mountain wines are some of the most collectible and highly anticipated releases because their unique terroir makes the wines both powerfully delicious young, and beautiful after ten or twelve years in the cellar, Kirilov reminded us, before adding “That’s why I like them so much!” 

Even as prices for mountain grapes have been sharply increasing, Petar manages to seek out special sites that don’t leave him or his customers broke. This 2017 is off a terraced vineyard on the warm, dry eastern slopes of Spring Mountain. Cooled by winds at 1,200 feet in elevation, red volcanic soils infuse the black fruit core with mineral nuance. The tell-tale sign of quality for Kirilov is the tiny berries, presaging intense concentration and dark pigments, flooding the mouth with flavor when plucked off the vine. 

The grapes were hand-picked to ensure delicacy and freshness, before an aging regimen of 18 months in a mix of French (almost half new) and American oak helped give this Cabernet a satin-y polish, rounded with vanilla and cedar.

Decant and drink now for its firm tannins, spice, and plump, just-picked fruit flavors, or wait a decade as the forest floor and leather notes sink into gorgeous tertiary depth. This is a must-have for mountain Napa buyers and lovers of big reds of all stripes. We’ve already made room in our own cellars.