2022 On Q Wines Cadence Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Six years ago, our newest employee—Eduardo Dingler, now a Wine Access veteran—introduced us to a tiny-production Cabernet crafted by one of Napa’s hottest up-and-coming winemakers. Eduardo was so enamored with the wine that he’d poured it by the glass at two of his restaurants.

The wine was On Q’s Cadence Cabernet Sauvignon, and it blew us away. We snagged a few hundred bottles, and after our members tried them, they were blown away too.For years, that was it from On Q—until we were able to land this 2022. 

This was crafted by Julien Fayard, the 100-point Quintessa and Dalla Valle alum behind Wine Access favorite Le Pich and the uber-collectible Purlieu and JF labels. Sourced mainly from a prime Yountville site, bolstered by fruit from two famous vineyards we can’t name, it’s bold and juicy, dense yet elegant—worth every nickel of its winery list price.

There is the Napa everybody knows—Mondavi Private Reserve, Caymus Special Select, and the big names that won the Judgment of Paris and put Napa Valley on the map—and there is the Napa that the insiders know. The valley where accomplished winemakers responsible for headline-grabbing, big-name wines, sneak off and produce tiny bottlings that rarely see a retail shelf or a restaurant wine list.

On Q is one of those wines. The label was started by Napa native Steve Brady, who, after starting off making his own wines, eventually raised On Q’s game by hiring Julien Fayard, now one of Napa’s most renowned Cabernet craftsmen. Brady sold the label in 2022, but the Fayard connection stayed the same. The results are in the glass.