2018 B. Wise Vineyards Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon Napa County Sonoma County 750 ml

The stunning 2018 B. Wise Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon melds the magic of three world-class winemakers: Silver Oak alum Massimo Monticelli, cult hero Mark Herold of Merus, and 100-point Napa star Julien Fayard of Purlieu. And after one sip, we had Merus- and Purlieu-like prices (read: $100) dancing in our heads. 

Grown in one of the most lauded vintages of the decade, the 2018 Wisdom is drinking beautifully now—generous and harmonious, exuding top quality from the first aromas of freshly baked blueberry pie, vanilla, and fresh violets. The mouthfeel is plush and lively, with plenty of red fruit laced with licorice and French roast coffee, and finishes with super-silky tannins. It’s a luxury of a Cabernet, priced to open on a whim. 

Each of B. Wise’s winemakers merits an email unto himself: Mark Herold is the man who grabbed Robert Parker’s attention with “the brilliant wines he produced under the name Merus”—a cult Cabernet that’s worth every bit of its $160 price. Fayard is the Wine Access favorite behind the Cab that Parker wanted to “diagram and analyze over and over to see what true perfection really is.” And Monticelli rounds out the collective resume with experience at California’s ultimate icon, Silver Oak. 

As a vineyard owner, proprietor Brion Wise crosses paths with many of California’s top winemakers. About a decade ago, he and his longtime helmsman Monticelli mused about collaborating with Mark Herold, whose Merus bottling was shining a spotlight on Napa’s then-underrated Coombsville AVA. So B. Wise recruited him to craft a Coombsville wine. The results were magical and marked the beginning of a longtime partnership.

Fast forward a few years, to the same situation: The team noticed that Bordeaux-trained (and former director of winemaking for Philippe Melka) Julien Fayard was creating incredible Cabernets by applying his Old-World restraint to other Napa sites, so they nabbed him. It was a brilliant strategy, one that only a vintner like Brion Wise—who owns the kind of Napa Valley and Sonoma County vineyards that top winemakers line up to work with—could pull off. 

For Wisdom, the specific sites remain secret, but each winemaker vinifies his lots separately, and then Monticelli orchestrates the final blend. The 2018 spent a total of 20 months in 25% new French oak, accenting the gorgeous fruit from both sides of the Mayacamas with the perfect touches of vanilla and warm oak notes. From cork-pull to the last sip, nothing but the hallmarks of top-quality Cabernet!