2010 Topel Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Battuello Vineyard St. Helena Napa Valley 750 ml

A Winemaker’s Best-Kept Secret, Yours for the Taking

Martin saw our eyes drifting, again and again, to the stacks of cases in the corner. We couldn’t help it. Because while we were tasting a new release of Topel Winery’s Battuello Vineyard Cabernet, we were looking at twenty pristine cases of the same wine—but from four way-back vintages. And the boxes looked like they hadn’t moved an inch in their life.

He must have known what we were thinking, because Martin stepped away from the table with his opener and moved toward the stockpile. “Let’s taste it. To tell you the truth, I’m kind of curious myself.”

He cut the foil on four bottles, from the 2009-2012  vintages, and poured us generous tastes of each. They were all excellent, but it was the 2010 Battuello Vineyard Cabernet that stole center stage, even wedged between top Napa vintages. A deep ruby wine with a brick red rim, it boasted seriously intense, secondary aromatics like violet, dried flowers, cigar box, and clove. The core of black plum was balanced by a layer of espresso and subtle tannins. In other words, it was aged to perfection. 

We flipped for the wine, but did our best to play it cool. We figured that with harvest on the horizon, Martin might be eager to make a little room in the cellar. So we asked if the winery had plans for the cases. Martin just laughed. “Plans? Are you kidding me? Those have been in that exact spot for years!” 

Topel has been tapping this stellar vineyard for years. Farmed by the Battuello family since they purchased it in 1909, the land sits in the varied soils where the Mayacamas and Vaca ranges converge—squarely in the middle of St. Helena’s high-rent Cabernet district in the northern Napa Valley. 

Now a decade on, the 2010 is showing its age beautifully. This wine reminded us exactly why Antonio Galloni of Vinous, not long after the vintage hit the market, encouraged readers to “do whatever they can to source the best 2010s, as they are magnificent.” 

Galloni was right, which is why our wine team is taking home as many bottles as they can for their personal cellars. This is a rare chance for you to take a trip back to a fantastic vintage. Don’t miss it.