2018 Library Collection Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

By day, Robin Akhurst heads up winemaking for Vintage Wine Estates, burnishing an already impressive CV that includes stops at Domaine Leflaive, plus time working under 100-point phenom Thomas Rivers Brown for Schrader Cellars, Rivers-Marie, and Maybach.

By night, the prodigiously talented vintner throws himself into tiny-production passion projects—the kind of artisan-crafted, impeccably sourced, boutique gems that Napa winemakers quietly pour behind the scenes.

So when Robin called us about one such labor of love—the earthy, rich, immensely suave 2018 Library Collection Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley—we were so eager to finalize the deal that he barely had time to warn us: Just 83 cases, or roughly 1,000 bottles, was all that existed of this wine. And he doubted he’d ever lock up fruit from a vineyard this closely guarded ever again.

In other words: This is a first-come, first-served type of deal and an exclusive value from a legendary Calistoga site. In a less generous vintage than 2018, this project would never have come to fruition. It was thanks only to the vintage’s abundant volume that Robin got an unexpected call from some very accomplished growers.

Of course, to say that 2018 is notable for being generous is slightly burying the lede: We’re talking about a superlative Napa vintage rated 99 points by Wine Spectator, belonging “in an echelon with the finest of the past two decades,” according to Decanter.

All the hallmarks of this historic Napa year—intense complexity of fruit, slowly building sugar levels—are evident in this Cabernet, which coats the palate with chocolaty tannins. For the price, vineyard, and availability, there’s nothing else quite like it.