2020 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa Valley 750 ml

Martin Ray wines consistently deliver impressive value—but their 94-point 2020 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, from an NDA-protected site near Cardinale, is next-level.

Here in this stretch of Oakville’s “left bank” of the Napa River, Opus One and Cardinale fetch prices deep in the triple-digits, but today’s wine is far less after our discount. Suckling loved its “Nice weight on the center-palate,” calling it “delicious already,” awarding it a higher score than even Rudd Samantha’s ($190) and Turnbull Reserve ($110) Cabernets!

A modern pioneer in producing some of the best Napa Cabs—and making them available at value prices rarely matched by his Valley brethren—Martin Ray was one of the original legends of California viticulture, alongside Don Chappellet and Robert Mondavi. He was motivated to craft wines that would rival Europe’s elites at a time when most would have found that notion laughable. But Ray got the last laugh when his bottles ended up in the White House under multiple administrations.

Today, owner Courtney Benham has picked up the torch where Ray left off. Bringing on 100-point winemaker Keith Emerson was a huge move, especially when it comes to concocting super-premium Cabernet Sauvignon. Emerson’s experience as winemaker at Vineyard 29 and Robert Craig make him a Cab expert par excellence, and when he got a shot at a holy grail of Oakville vineyards—well, the result speaks for itself. 

We couldn’t have landed this new allocation without Wine Access members’ huge ongoing support of both Martin Ray and Courtney Benham wines. Enjoy this well-born Oakville Cabernet with grilled fare like skirt steak tacos, and don’t be surprised when your guests ask where you got it!