2018 Nom de Plume Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa Valley 750 ml

We said “wow” when our friend, 19-time 100-point winemaker Luc Morlet, told us where he sourced the grapes for today’s phenomenal Cabernet. The 24-acre property on the Oakville Bench shares the same hallowed terroir as the crown jewel of Napa vineyards. A favorite of Opus One and Paul Hobbs, the site might be the most famous (and expensive) in the entire valley. 

We said “wow” again when we tasted the sensationally rich 2018 Nom de Plume Cabernet while standing with Luc in that NDA-protected vineyard in which the wine was grown.

“I trademarked the Nom de Plume name 14 years ago,” Luc told us as we walked along trellised vines as exquisitely manicured as the gardens at Versailles. “I saved it for a day like today—for a complete wine made in very classic fashion, like a novel published under a pen name.”

Once Luc had sworn us to secrecy, he drove us out to the site in the “tenderloin” of the Oakville corridor. A dense curtain of trees blocks the view of the vineyard from the road, but after crossing an old bridge, the site opens up to a lush Cabernet oasis—one bordered by what many would call the most famous vineyard in Napa Valley. 

In the winemaking process, Luc drew on his elite Napa bona fides—including a stint at Peter Michael Winery—as well as the Old World heritage he absorbed growing up in the Champagne region and while working for a Grand Cru Classé Margaux estate. “There’s no artifice,” he said. “Just great terroir.”