2006 Penche Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

The Origin of a No-Brainer

Why would wunderkind winemaker Jay Buoncristiani (author of the 98+point “The Core”) agree to make just a few hundred cases of wine from 4 acres in Oak Knoll with a Bay Area orthodontist? Read on for the story of how toothbrushes helped forge a remarkable partnership.

Buoncristiani and his three brothers are one of the great cult winemaking stories in Napa Valley. Beginning as home winemakers, with a few barrels of Cabernet in a Napa Valley garage, the Buoncristianis’ ascent has been steep, culminating with Jay’s 98+point 2014 Cabernet called “The Core.”

But if Jay’s sterling reputation as a winemaker is now well established, his talent for FINDING wine is less appreciated. Those humble Buoncristiani beginnings honed an uncanny capacity for discovering tiny, hand-farmed vineyards, so small that most in Napa think the ROI unjustifiable. But of all the wild stories of Cabernet discoveries, even Jay will tell you that the one that led him to Scott and Pauline Asbill’s Penché takes the cake.

Lots of successful people dream of buying a property in Napa Valley, living the good life as they tend a few acres of world-class Cabernet. Most learn quickly that “the good life” and “tending” don’t jive. Scott Asbill is either a glutton for punishment or a slow learner. The story Jay told us about the Bay Area orthodontist and his vineyard determination not only explains why the 2006 Penché is such a powerhouse, but also why a wunderkind winemaker like Jay Buoncristiani partnered with the Asbills.

In 1999, Scott and Pauline Asbill bought their dream home in the shadow of a centuries-old oak tree. It’s the kind of historic tree that inspired Capt. Joseph Osborne to name the area “Oak Knoll” in 1851 at the height of the Gold Rush, and its precarious lean over the house would eventually inspire the label name “Penché,” for the French “leaning, bending, or tilting.”

An insidious rumor made its way up the valley in 2002: The vine mealybug was said to be infesting the fine, nutrient-rich soils of Oak Knoll. Pauline Asbill was concerned; Scott couldn’t sleep. Pauline awoke one morning to find her husband already on edge, armed with a pair of new toothbrushes. Convinced Scott had lost his mind, Pauline nonetheless went along as they walked each row, inspected every plant, pulled back bark on anything that looked suspicious, and scrubbed the wood with those toothbrushes to remove anything that was suspect.

That’s either love or madness or both, but stories like these have a knack for traveling the Napa Valley grapevine, particularly in circles like Jay Buoncristiani’s. Jay made his way to Oak Knoll to meet the orthodontist-turned-master-grape-grower with the intention of buying some fruit. When he saw the meticulous attention Scott Asbill paid to this sensational vineyard, Jay decided to do one better. He and Asbill agreed to team up to make just a few hundred cases of one of the valley’s more exquisite Cabernets.

Just over 350 cases of 2006 Penché were produced. We sold the first 100 in 2013 and now, as Penché makes room in the cellar for the incoming 2016s, we’re selling the last 34. What Wine Spectator once called a “young, sophisticated, tightly wound Cabernet” has matured into a LUSH, sappy powerhouse. As Jay Buoncristiani put it, “The 2006 is dark garnet in hue; deeply layered aromas of dark berries, mocha, cassis, toasty French oak, sweet toffee, molasses and exotic spice. Expect big, full and rich mid palate density laced with intense flavors of ripe blackberries, black cherry, integrated toasty oak, and baker’s chocolate. The persistent yet balanced finish exhibits excellent depth, purity, and elegance.”

Direct from the cellar where they’ve been sleeping for the last DECADE. Just $29.99/bottle today, exclusively on WineAccess. This is what a no-brainer looks like.