2020 Courtney Benham Cabernet Sauvignon Melange du Baum Mt. Veeder Napa Valley 750 ml

O’Shaughnessy. Lokoya. Pym-Rae. Robert Craig. 

If you want to understand why Mount Veeder Cabernets have generated a fervent cult following, you normally have to pony up a commensurate amount of money. Fortunately for you, we have Courtney Benham’s outstanding 2020 Melange du Baum Mount Veeder Cabernet for far less than you’d have to shell out for the big names. 

It’s hard to know whether to name the terroir or the talent first. The source is a highly sought-after vineyard on the fog-free northern slopes of Mount Veeder—a pint-sized parcel comprising just 6.5 acres. The winemaker is 100-point talent Keith Emerson, the president of Vineyard 29 and an old hand at working top Mount Veeder terroir.

Powerfully built with mountain structure, yet showing the vibrancy of nearby San Pablo Bay's marine influence, this wine’s production tops out at a few barrels, so allocations are extremely scarce.

Courtney Benham is among the few Napa luminaries with an inside line to this exclusive site. It’s his ability to leverage industry connections into showstopping values that has made his label a Wine Access member-favorite.

Benham casts a wide net in search of overperforming vineyards, just like the one that produced today’s single-site stunner. Its grapes were just the kind of thing Benham and winemaker Keith Emerson save their powder for. Yields were meager, but they produced a wine with extraordinary power, presenting finely grained tannins and prime mountain aromas of smashed blackcurrants, black plums, and ripe blackberries.

Emerson ran the juice through 45% new oak barrels for 20 months, lending its raw mountain concentration a terrifically polished veneer. It’s purring now, and will only get better for years to come.