2022 Vina Robles Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles 750 ml

This past fall, we learned that Courtney Benham—the value-maven behind Martin Ray as well as his own eponymous label—purchased Viña Robles.

And that made total sense. After all, Benham has been one of California’s savviest operators since the 1980s. Raised on a family farm in Bakersfield, he learned the wine business from his father, and since built a network of vineyard sources that are the envy of the industry. 

Those connections throughout California—forged through his long career producing top-rated wines—means that he secures access to fantastic grapes for reasonable prices. In turn, that ability to leverage such industry connections into showstopping values has made his label a sensation among Wine Access members. 

That makes Viña Robles a natural fit with the likes of Martin Ray. Viña Robles’ success is built on the strength of their 850 acres of prime Paso Robles vineyards, which dot five different AVAs in the region and are all sustainably farmed to SIP certification. They got into the region early—in the late 90s, before Paso hit the international stage—and have the prime sites to show for it.

The premium treatment extends into the winery, as well. The grapes are picked in the wee hours of the morning, while they’re at their best, gently destemmed and then sorted berry-by-berry using a state-of-the-art optical sorter to ensure that only the best make it into fermentation. After a carefully managed fermentation, the wine spends eight months in barrels before blending, and then another full year in barrels to harmonize and polish tannins.

The result is stunning for its under-$20 price: We’d love to see anyone in Napa try and compete, dollar-for-dollar.