2020 Courtney Benham Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Courtney Benham has been one of our best deals in Napa Cabernet for nearly as long as Wine Access has existed—and his 2020 Cab keeps that streak going. 

Benham and 100-point winemaker Keith Emerson once again tapped vineyards whose fruit also goes into bottles that usually command prices several multiples higher than $20—necessitating some pretty strict NDAs.

One site is among the defining and legendary estates of the Stags Leap AVA, whose expressive Cabernets helped put Napa on the world wine map. Another, where the grapes are marked by dusty Rutherford tannins, is a favorite source for Duckhorn.

We’ve long speculated about what Benham and Emerson had to do to pull this rabbit out of their hat, but there’s nothing sinister going on here—just decades of hard-earned Napa experience meeting one of the brightest winemaking talents in the Valley.

Connections and long-term contracts are the fruit of Benham’s long career producing top-rated bottles. Raised on a family farm in Bakersfield, he learned the wine business from his father. Since the 1980s, he’s been one of California’s savviest operators, racking up countless 90+ scores across multiple estates.

The Courtney Benham brand is a collaboration with Emerson, who earned his 100-point stripes with the 2013 Vineyard 29 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Emerson also crafts big, critically acclaimed mountain wines for Robert Craig, meaning his bottles typically fetch at least $100.

Benham and Emerson’s partnership has yielded a string of incredible bargains, and this 2020, with a luxurious, silky texture comparable to that of a wine several times its price, fully displays the rare level of value this winery offers.