2019 Dakota Shy Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Todd Newman and Tom Garrett started Dakota Shy winery with one block of quality Cabernet, purchased with tips Todd earned waiting tables. Now they’re playing in the big leagues with the best of Napa Valley—and they’re winning, at about half the price of similar wines. That’s why Antonio Galloni called Dakota Shy “one of Napa Valley’s most exciting young wineries.”

No bottle shows what they’re all about better than the 2019 Napa Valley Cabernet, which stands with bottles that Napa Cabernet collectors would make a show of bringing to the table and expect their guests to sip with reverence. It’s got richly appointed aromas of ripe blackberry, crème de cassis, mocha, allspice, and herbs leading into a broad and black-fruited palate. Accented by espresso, Mexican chocolate, and a touch of wintergreen, it finishes long on ultra-fine tannins. 

If you slapped a famous consulting winemaker’s name on this and sold it out of a palatial tasting room, this bottle would be a sellout at $250+. Most of it goes to their mailing list—95% of their wine is spoken for by the time it’s released—which is why we’re thrilled to share it with you.

Impeccable Cabernet is crucial to Dakota Shy’s mission, and they built their 2019 on the absolute best sources available: Prime vineyards in the Rutherford AVA make up the lion’s share, bolstered by grapes from St. Helena and Stags Leap. As far as the Valley’s great temptations—things like consulting enologists, wax-dipped bottles, and ornate tasting rooms—they reject them all. In other words, all their resources are channeled into making the best wine possible. And it shows in gorgeous Cabernet in the glass.