2017 Ty Caton Cabernet Sauvignon Winemaker's Cuvee Caton Vineyard Moon Mountain District Sonoma 750 ml

Grown on slopes that reach upward at angles as steep as 45 degrees, in poor soils, and beaten by unrelenting winds, the grapes for the best mountain wines of Napa and Sonoma’s Mayacamas Range are a struggle to produce, but they’re worth it.

If you love Napa and Sonoma wine, you may have heard about “ghost” wineries: stone structures built in the 1880s only to be abandoned during Prohibition. Nearly all of them have been revived and many have become current-day luminaries, including Mayacamas Vineyards, Mount Peak, and Far Niente. 

But what about a winery that Prohibition never shuttered? The one whose wine was so good, even sheriff’s deputies would come, jug in hand, in the know about the secret knock needed to get that jug filled?

It’s true: Ty Caton told us his family cellars are built on the footprint of that rare “speakeasy” winery. That same mystique lives on today in the 2017 Ty Caton Cabernet Sauvignon Winemaker's Cuvée. Caton began replanting these hillsides in 2000, and in 2017, his Cabernet vines began to enter their prime.

Ty farms his vineyard sustainably and crafts the wines himself, making this a true family winery and passion project. His 2017 comprises 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Syrah, 7% Petite Sirah, and 4% Merlot raised for 19 months in 60% new French oak. It’s important to note that this is not a “shortcut” wine made from purchased fruit or purchased wine. Quite the opposite! Ty also grows grapes for some very well-known names but holds back quality estate-fruit for his own wines.

If you crave the delicacy and high-altitude grace of classic Napa mountain wines, this one’s for you.