2006 Terra Valentine Cabernet Sauvignon Wurtele Vineyard Spring Mountain 750 ml

The meal felt straight out of Goodfellas: We were at an old-school, wood-paneled chop house in Lower Manhattan—the kind where every waiter sports a trim grey mustache and crisp white jacket, and the sommelier doesn’t so much suggest wines, but gently tells you what you should drink.

We held the leatherbound list open and pointed to the big-name Napa Cabernet we were considering. Without a word, the rotund somm flipped the page and planted his finger underneath the Terra Valentine, a Spring Mountain Cabernet that came in at about a C-note less than our original choice. Minutes later, we were tasting the dense and luscious wonderfully pliant Terra Valentine with our Tomahawk ribeye. Forty-five minutes later, we were well into our second bottle of this velvety, blackberry-scented mountain Cab. 

We never forgot the Terra Valentine name or label, and years later, it came in handy: When we met Terra Valentine winemaker Sam Baxter at the top of Spring Mountain Road, we told him about our night in Manhattan—and how his Cabernet totally stole the show.  And now we bring one to you: the 2006 Terra Valentine Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain Wurtele Vineyard Napa Valley, which has been aging, untouched in the Terra Valentine cellars for more than a decade. 

On release, Wine Enthusiast gave the Terra Valentine a glowing 94-point score, labeling it a Cellar Selection and calling it “stunning, dramatic, but nowhere near ready to drink.” Well, that was a long time ago, and our friends at Terra Valentine—and our own impressed palates—are gonna go ahead and say it: This Cabernet is reaching its prime right now. 

This is Old World complexity complemented by New World concentration, and a shining exemplar of well-aged Napa Cabernet. Showing a deep garnet color, high-toned dried black cherry and blackberry fruit, allspice, leather, clove, and wild herb aromas all waft from the glass with the first swirl. It’s got a dense and luscious body, with mature tannins that transport flavors of blackberry compote, black olive, and baking spice pleasantly across the palate. The hard part—the waiting—is over, and you didn’t even have to think about it.

The 2006 that is showing so beautifully right now is sourced from Terra Valentine’s Wurtele vineyard, a 30-acre site they have owned for more than two decades. Ranging from 600-1000 feet of elevation, the site circles a knoll, giving it a 360-degree exposure. The sun and the wind hit every vine differently, imparting unique characteristics to each one and leading to a supremely harmonious Cabernet.

It’s not often that life hands you a golden opportunity to turn back the clock, but that’s exactly what we have today, in the form of a pristine bottle of winery-aged Cabernet Sauvignon. Wine Enthusiast knew the 2006 Terra Valentine’s finest hour was way ahead of it when it was named a Cellar Selection a decade ago, and guess what: That hour is upon us. All you have to do is seize it—at well below the release price!