2013 Chad Cabernet Sauvignon Incline 27 Sonoma County 750 ml

Twenty-Seven Degree Incline on the Western Face of Spring Mountain

First Robert Parker called the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon vintage the “greatest in 37 years on the North Coast.” Then The Wine Advocate published a record 13 reviews of Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon between 96-100 points, many of which were drawn from exceedingly steep plantings high up in the Mayacamas Mountains — just a mile or two from the Napa Valley line.

But, as Chad told us last week while pouring what may well be the biggest and boldest of his 2013 Cabernet Sauvignons (including the Private Reserve bottlings off Pritchard Hill and Mt. Veeder), his negotiations with the winery were unusually protracted — even if the winemaker was one of his closest and oldest friends.  

“Sure, the winery’s on fire.  Yes, according to Parker, my buddy is putting most of Napa Valley to shame.  But absent the winery’s name on the label?  This is Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon — which means little to most collectors.  I decided to stand pat … and wait my buddy out.”

What would Chad say about the 2013 CHAD Cabernet Sauvignon “Incline 27”? Not the name of the winery nor the “superstar” winemaker. But this much he would share:  The winery property is perched at almost 2,000 feet in elevation on some of the steepest slopes of the Mayacamas, on the western face of Spring Mountain.  The slopes are backbreaking. “At first,” Chad told us, “I had no idea how they had the guts to plant the site.  It cost a fortune to plant and now a greater fortune to tend.  But then you come across a Cabernet Sauvignon like this from a vintage like 2013 … and it ALMOST makes sense!”  

As The Wine Advocate reported, the 2013 growing season was a miraculous anomaly, the rare vintage where only in the last two weeks of June did temperatures top 100 degrees — this was on the Napa side of the Mayacamas, not the cooler Sonoma side!  Daytime highs on Sonoma Mountain, where steep slopes flirt with 50% (or a 27-degree incline), rarely exceeded 90 degrees, even as nighttime lows dipped into the low 50s.

While yields were high — almost 3 tons per acre — the small-berry clusters were loaded with sugar. Parker so accurately reported: “Consistency in quality, depth of flavor, texture, freshness, vibrancy and richness was absolutely mind-boggling. This could turn out to be one of the most epic and awesome vintages the North Coast of California has ever produced.”

The 2013 CHAD Cabernet Sauvignon Incline 27 is indeed “mind-boggling.”  Opaque purple in color, with lavish aromas of black chocolate, crushed black fruits, and cassis.  Ultra-concentrated on the attack, filled with blackberry preserves, mountain blueberries, and crème de cassis, finishing with textbook Sonoma Mountain dusty tannin structure, and arguing elegantly for a 10- to 15-year rest in the coolest of cellars.

Compared to $125 under the winery’s label.  $23 today.  Shipping included on 6.