2018 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 750 ml

Every time we open a bottle of Pride Cabernet, we marvel at how they can still sell it for a two-digit price. After all, $100+ prices are common in Napa Valley, and demand for Pride—one of the definitive Cabernets of California—is such that they could sell three or four times as much Cabernet as they do. 

But Pride’s production is extremely limited because they’re all about place—every grape that goes into this bottle is grown on their 85 acres of mountain vineyards, and every sip tells the story of this inimitable site high above the Napa Valley floor. That’s why it’s a wine we always recommend to friends and collectors.

A picture of polished, black-as-night intensity, the 2018 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon hails from one of the great vintages of the past decade, and that season shines through in every sip. The nose leads with black currant, black plum, and black cherry, accented by crushed bay leaf, graphite, wild herbs, smoke, and chocolate. The full-bodied, polished mountain fruit shows both great detail and the plushness of the excellent vintage, making this a perfect example of a blue-chip Cabernet from a classic producer.

Most of Pride’s production goes to top restaurants, and a fiercely loyal mailing list that is more than happy to keep Pride’s Cabernet to themselves. Today you can claim your share from one of the great vintages of the past decade right here on Wine Access. 

It’s not just the solitude that makes Pride’s 235-acre, 2,100-foot site special. Nor is it the view, which beats just about any other in Northern California. It’s the conditions, some of which are special to mountain sites, and some which are unique to this special place. The estate is dominated by south-facing vineyards—something uncommon on Spring Mountain—and like the best high-altitude sites, the vines sit above the fog line. That means daylong sunshine and cool mountain air, which combine to make for slow, steady, ideal ripening.

When they purchased the property, Pride owners Jim and Carolyn Pride first planned to sell their grapes to other vintners: The site had grown grapes for more than a century, and Robert Mondavi had purchased fruit from the site’s previous owners for years. But they soon decided to make their own wine, bottling their first vintage in 1991. In 1992, they made the extremely wise decision to hire Bob Foley as winemaker. 

Within a few years, Pride was racking up 98- and 99-point scores from Robert Parker, who said “these wines catapult Pride Mountain into the top echelon of California's quality wineries.” Now Pride, which has come to stand for Napa Valley mountain Cabernet in all its intense and age-worthy glory, has become a regular on magazine covers and Top 100 lists.

That’s why we’re thrilled to have the 2018 Cabernet, which is evidence that winemaker Sally Johnson is keeping Pride at the top. It’s a gorgeous taste of one of Napa Valley’s legendary terroirs—the latest edition of a Cabernet that Wine Access members have been clamoring for. So whether this is a longtime wish come true or you’re new to Pride’s unique brand of mountain Cabernet, we know you’ll enjoy this wine as much as we do.