2019 Delightful and Strange Red Wine Napa Valley 750 ml

Most of the 2019 Delightful & Strange Red hails from a renowned Howell Mountain vineyard that we thought we knew well, having once hiked roughly 1000 feet in elevation to see the vines.

The vineyard’s owner, an accomplished pilot, shook his head. “No,” he said. “To really get a good look at it, you need to see it from the sky.”

Next thing we knew, we were buckled into the passenger seat of his SF 260 Marchetti, an Italian light aircraft, as he spun slow, lazy circles roughly 500 feet above the sloping hillside site. The perfectly spaced rows of vines were outlined in golden morning light, sitting just above the milky mists of the fog line. From that vantage point, it was impossible to miss what Delightful & Strange represents: premier Napa terroir—a site Vinous’ Antonio Galloni called “one of Napa Valley’s under the radar gems.” 

However, the vineyard doesn’t yield a lot of grapes, so when we quoted the volume we’d need to satisfy our Delightful & Strange fans—who make this red a perennial bestseller and back it up with dozens of five-star reviews—the cellarmaster paused.

“I’d like to do the deal, but that may be more than I can supply,” he said. “Let me get back to you.” After two days, the phone rang—with good news. He had a friend who owned another elite vineyard, a place continuously farmed since 1870, whose wines cost $200+. Their bottles are mailing-list only–but they managed to get just enough for us. 

Two world-class Napa vineyards? That sounded like a damn good deal to us, and the kind of value our members have come to expect from Delightful & Strange.