2021 The Vice The House Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Great Napa Cabernet deals never happen by accident. There are too many forces moving in the opposite direction, especially with demand at an all-time high and grape prices ticking ever upwards.

Careful strategy, overperforming sites, and bloodhound instincts are needed to craft rare, truly great, under-$40 Napa bargains, and all three go into the monumental, gorgeously concentrated 2021 edition of The House Cabernet.  

Showing Napa Valley’s big, lush, and opulent signature style at a can’t-beat-it price, the previous vintage of this wine had our members so impressed that one said it was “definitely the best money I've spent on a bottle of wine.”  

This bottling jumped onto our radar when a friend snuck it into a blind-tasting lineup of Napa heavyweights mostly sourced from mountain AVAs like Mount Veeder, Howell Mountain, and Atlas Peak. With its muscular mouthfeel, broad tannins, and massive aromatics of sun-kissed blackberries and sweet tobacco, it fit right in with high-elevation dynamos that regularly pull down 96 points and fetch prices way over $100.

The Vice founder Malek Amrani and veteran winemaker Vance Rose tap strategically targeted vineyards and plots they have experience with in certain appellations, knowing these can deliver excellent results at below-market prices.

The backbone of the blend hails from a Mount Veeder site where 1,050 feet of elevation cools the vines and slows ripening. The high skin-to-flesh ratio that results translates into chewy concentration and big, full tannins. A St. Helena plot traps the sun’s heat, allowing the grapes to mature quickly and provide a burst of ripeness, while fruit from a temperate Coombsville vineyard wraps the blend in mouthwatering acidity.

It’s another knockout from The Vice.