2019 Ty Caton Cabernet Sauvignon Caton Vineyard Moon Mountain District Sonoma 750 ml

Rugged, sun-drenched, and perilously steep, the vineyards of the Mayacamas Mountains have produced some of the most legendary wines in California's history. And Ty Caton has captured all that power and dynamism in his estate-grown 2019 Caton Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. 

On the west side of Mt. Veeder, Caton’s vines sit on undulating terrain at a variety of altitudes and exposures—some on majestic slopes pitched at up to 40 degrees. Golden sunlight on the hills. Rocks that jut out like ancient monuments. It’s a sight to behold.

One look at the vineyard’s precipitous hillsides and you might wonder how, exactly, they were planted. But one sip of this 2019 and you’ll see why. 

You may have heard of the phenomenon of “ghost” wineries: stone structures built in the 1880s only to be abandoned during Prohibition. But what about a winery that Prohibition never shuttered?  

It’s true: Ty Caton told us his family cellars are built on the footprint of that rare “speakeasy” winery that thrived in the midst of Prohibition, thanks to the authorities who looked the other way.

Caton planted his vineyard in 2000, 13 years before Sonoma County’s Moon Mountain District would earn its own AVA. Its position farther inland means that Moon Mountain has a hotter climate than most of Sonoma, and the breezes that arrive on the undulating, rocky slopes have already been warmed significantly before they arrive. 

Ty farms his vineyard sustainably and crafts the wines himself, making this a true family winery and passion project, and that passion shows in every sip of the 2019 Caton Vineyard. An intense, full-bodied, assertive Cabernet, it’s a rich, powerful, and stellar representation of mountain-grown Cabernet excellence.