2012 William Knuttel Cabernet Sauvignon Rafanelli Vineyard Mary's Block 750 ml

2012 William Knuttel Rafanelli Vineyard “Mary’s Block” Cabernet Sauvignon

Not often does a Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignon outpoint the best of Napa Valley. Then again, rarely is that Cabernet Sauvignon grown by the Rafanellis in a vintage like 2012.

Alberto Rafanelli emigrated from Italy to California in the early 1900s. He settled with his family in Healdsburg and started growing grapes. Shortly thereafter, he put up a makeshift winery and began crushing fruit and crafting wine as he had in the old country.

Twenty years later, Rafanelli was nearly making a go of it, when Al Capone and Prohibition threw a monkey wrench into the fledgling Rafanelli Winery. Alberto’s dream was put on hold for two decades — until the early 1950s, when his son Americo set up shop in Dry Creek Valley.

While the Rafanellis’ calling card has long been head-trained Zinfandel, the family also tends a few acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, planted on manicured terraces that typically eke out just 2 tons per acre. But in the spring of 2012, famed Zin-maker Bill Knuttel learned that the Rafanelli terraces were carrying nearly 30% more fruit than the norm. A few tons were up for sale. Knuttel wasted no time and took every bunch.

Never in the last seven years have we offered a Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon on WineAccess. Why? In our experience, Dry Creek Valley, while superb for Zinfandel, is simply too hot for Cabernet Sauvignon. But the 2012 growing season was both dry and unusually mild, allowing the Rafanellis to postpone picking until the first week of October, without any fear of desiccation. Even as the 2012 Rafanelli Zinfandels rank among the juiciest ever to come off this historic property, just as was the case on Napa’s Silverado Trail and Highway 29, this was a Dry Creek vintage where Cabernet Sauvignon reigned supreme. At harvest, berries were small, pert, and juicy. Skins showed no sign of blistering or raisining. Sugars were sky-high even as tannins were ripe and acids firm — a vintage of a lifetime on the terraces at Rafanelli Vineyards.

The 2012 William Knuttel Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Creek Valley D. Rafanelli Vineyard Mary’s Block is opaque purple in color. Explosive aromas of blackberry, violets, and black cherry cola tinged with new-wood cedar. Ultra-concentrated, plush, and polished on the attack, filled with a luscious mix of blackberry preserves splashed with crème de cassis, all buttressed by sturdy tannins far more typical of Oakville than Dry Creek Valley. Drink now for its primary-fruit hedonism or lay down for 8-12 years. This one could surely use the rest.

$45 on release. A DROP-DEAD STEAL at $26 today — EXCLUSIVELY on WineAccess. Shipping included on 4.