2017 Nine Suns Sunbird Red Napa Valley 750 ml

Crafted by Napa Valley master Philippe Melka from the world-class 22-acre Houyi Vineyard, the 2017 Nine Suns Sunbird Red offers a stunning picture of the Pritchard Hill site that has supplied $277-$483 reds from Bevan, Realm, and Fairchild. 

And like the hard-to-find Nine Suns Red grown on that same parcel, this inaugural vintage of Sunbird was not meant for the retail world—it was bound for fine restaurants and hotels, where it would have gone on lists at about $250 and over. But with those plans on hold, proprietor Flora Chang trickled a few bottles out to friends and family.

That’s precisely when our close connection to Nine Suns paid off. Visiting with Flora at the arresting Pritchard Hill property around the same time, we managed to secure 20 cases of the never-before-offered 2017 Sunbird Red Napa Valley for our Wine Access members. 

Today’s offer is what we’re all about: pulling aside the velvet rope for our Cabernet lovers, and giving them an opportunity to grab a world-class wine before it reaches its first Michelin-starred dining room. We’re thrilled to invite you to bypass the long waiting list and get in on the only taste of Nine Suns’ world-class vineyard that can be had for a two-digit price. It’s only on Wine Access. $95, while our tiny allocation lasts. 

Walking through the 22-acre Houyi Vineyard, it’s easy to see why the sole source of Nine Suns’ wines is so sought after by Napa Valley’s top Cabernet craftsmen. It boasts everything that makes Pritchard Hill one of the top grapegrowing sites in California, and more: deep red iron-rich soils, hunks of volcanic rock, and a 1,400-foot perch above the fog line that blesses it with abundant sunshine. Consisting of steep, beautifully drained slopes that offer a stunning view down the Valley, Houyi’s vines are tended by viticulturist David Abreu—who replanted Screaming Eagle and has farmed grapes for Staglin, Colgin, Bryant Family, and Harlan Estate—and they produce pristine fruit, year after year. 

For the decade since the Chang family founded Nine Suns, the Cabernet and Bordeaux grapes from the Houyi Vineyard have gone into their own Nine Suns Red and the above-mentioned wines. But the property also has tiny blocks of Grenache and Syrah that thrive in the high-elevation sunshine of Pritchard Hill, and they’ve been blended in with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon (along with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec) to produce a first-ever full snapshot of this one-of-a-kind plot.

Sunbird bursts with the presence that Pritchard Hill is famous for, showing a deep purple-ruby color, and a nose of sun-baked raspberries and bramble accented by dark-roast coffee and chocolate. With herb-tinged plum on the palate touched with mocha and vanilla, the wine is swaddled in robust and ripe tannins that make for a smooth texture, with beautiful acidic lift on the finish. It’s the kind of red that will have you guessing at a limitless price tag. 

A wine can only have one inaugural vintage, and we’re proud to bring you this opportunity to join Nine Suns’ lucky members in claiming Sunbird. It’s a lightning strike from one of Napa Valley’s most precious terroirs. Don’t miss it.