2020 Theorize Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley 750 ml

Yesterday, a couple cases of one of Napa’s most coveted Sauvignon Blanc values landed in our chilly warehouse. Tomorrow, there’s a good chance every last bottle will already be accounted for.

Crafted by a 100-point winemaker with inside connections to Napa’s best vineyards, this 2020 Theorize has the same pedigree as top Sauvignon Blancs that are poured at Michelin-starred seafood spots and cost $50 per bottle.

Yet this citrus-kissed bottling from legendary Napa consulting winemaker Jean Hoefliger is just $18.99 today. That’s a 37% haircut off the original sale price, thanks to our history of collaboration with Jean, who has crafted numerous 98- to 100-point wines for superstar labels like The Debate, Alpha Omega, and AXR. 

It’s primed to fill a season of warm weather evenings with mineral, mouthwatering freshness at a massive discount. But as usual with wines as special as Theorize’s latest release, there’s not nearly enough supply to meet demand—meaning you shouldn't wait to grab your share.

When we first tasted this wine at Hog Island Oyster Co. with Theorize co-founder and sales whiz Ryan Anderson, we struggled to contain our excitement. It’s the kind of pedigreed and crowd-pleasing Sauvignon Blanc that we hope to luck into every summer.

After two dozen oysters and a bottle of Champagne, Ryan poured a round of this straw-gold beauty, shimmering platinum-green at the rim. The glasses immediately developed a film of condensation from the wine’s ocean-cold chill. Paired with the plump Sweetwater half-shells and the mignonette’s tangy bite, the Theorize Sauvignon Blanc was magic on the palate, showcasing fresh lemon peel and orange blossom.

Each sip reminded us of another bullet point on Jean’s incredible CV: there’s an Old World influence in the mineral tension and lightness of this wine, no doubt gained by working at two of Bordeaux’s greatest producers: Château Lynch-Bages and Château Carbonnieux.

Equally evident is the exotic fruit intensity and gilded richness of Jean’s time in Napa, where he’s won acclaim for his work with iconic sites like Beckstoffer To Kalon. This bottling is built from a network of top vineyards—many of them known to just a handful of influential buyers—that only a Napa veteran like Jean can unlock.

The cold-shower moment came when Ryan started talking numbers. Production was small to begin with, so they were hardly releasing the 2020 at all. With the restaurant business taking off again, Ryan and Jean had more sommeliers asking for this wine than they had bottles. Give us everything that’s left before you sell out, we asked.

Our pitch was simple: Under-$20 Sauvignon Blanc made by a Napa winemaker of Jean’s caliber will sell like hotcakes. He said he’d run the numbers and get back to us. Two days later, an email came in: 400 bottles, marked well below market price—take it or leave it.

That was an easy call for us—as we imagine it will be for the members who get to the buy button today.