I first met John and Karen Troisi when I was in retail, selling wine at my shop in New Jersey. I got a call from a woman who lived just a few miles away, asking if I would taste some wine she was making in California. A couple of days later, Karen showed up, wine in tow, and had me sample her 2008 Stagecoach Cabernet. At the time, my hopes weren’t high. After all, cold calls rarely led to any extraordinary discoveries. But after tasting and talking with Karen, I realized that this was no dilettante project — this was serious. The wine was one of the best 2008s I had tasted at the time, and it was an exceptional value as well. We struck a deal on the spot.

John and Karen still call New Jersey their home, traveling to Napa as needed (for bottling, harvest — basically any chance they get), while winemaker Kian Tavakoli does the day-to-day work. His path to Jean Edwards began at the enology program at UC Davis, after which he did stints at Opus One, Clos du Val, and Crushpad, a custom crush facility where he oversaw more than 300 wines and 90 brands. In 2011 he went out on his own, consulting for a small group of clients and focusing his energies in a more personal and manageable way. Jean Edwards Cellars is a tribute to his talent.

The Troisis don’t own any vineyards but have contracts with some of Napa’s top growers, including Stagecoach, O’Shaughnessy Estate Winery’s Oakville property, Yates Family Vineyard on Mount Veeder, and several others in Rutherford, Calistoga, and Oak Knoll. They produce a single-vineyard Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon, several AVA series wines from Oakville and Napa, a Petite Sirah, and, for the first time in 2014, a tiny amount of Sauvignon Blanc (already sold out!). They plan to increase the number of wines in the AVA and Single-Vineyard categories, but only when they find the right vineyards.

Tavakoli makes the wines with a deft hand, imbuing them with plenty of depth and richness but also keeping them balanced with a focus on terroir. They have always represented great value, often selling well below other wines from the same regions and vineyards. There is no state-of-the-art tasting room, fancy winery facility, or sweeping mountain top views — production takes place at an efficient, well-appointed custom crush facility. The Troisis would rather put the money into the fruit they source than a fancy address, and they deserve a lot of credit for it. Expect more great things to come from this little-known gem of a winery, and don’t miss their current offerings — they are some of the best values out there.