2013 Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is sold out.

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  • 96 pts Wine Advocate
    96 pts RPWA
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2013 Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

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  • Curated by unrivaled experts
  • Choose your delivery date
  • Temperature controlled shipping options
  • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

Equaling Bryant Family. Outpointing Schrader!

Julien Fayard’s ascent into the elite circle of Napa Valley Cabernet-makers should come as no surprise. After completing his masters degree in enology, Fayard was snapped up by Château Lafite-Rothschild to help manage vineyard operations. A year later, Julien moved to Napa Valley, landing a cellar job at Quintessa.

In 2006, in a stroke of good fortune that would help shape his career, Fayard met and was then hired by Philippe Melka, assuming the role of managing director at Atelier Melka. Over the next seven years, working side by side with Philippe, Fayard would help shape the world-class Cabernet Sauvignons of Dalla Valle, Métisse, Lail, and Gemstone.

In 2013, a vintage that continues to mesmerize us and Robert Parker (who called it the “greatest in 37 years”) with the laser-like purity of its Bordeaux-styled reds, Julien Fayard crafted the most extraordinary Cabernet Sauvignon of his career. In our estimation — as well as Parker’s — the 2013 Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon ($95) stands shoulder to shoulder with Napa’s greatest names, earning a 96-point rave from The Wine Advocate, equaling Bryant Family ($1,000/bottle) and Realm “Houyi Vineyard Pritchard Hill” ($450), while outpointing Schrader ($500)!

Drawn from fruit harvested off Andy Beckstoffer’s To Kalon in Oakville and Henry and Mayra Martinez’s vineyard perched 900-1,200 feet up on Pritchard Hill, the 2013 Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon is a classic rendering of the “iron fist in velvet glove.” Jet purple-black in color. Absolutely extravagant on the nose, infused with aromas of crushed blackberries, mountain blueberry, violets, graphite, and new-wood cedar. Big, bold, and opulent on the attack, while tightly wound and powerfully structured, the texture is velour-like. Intense and lavishly concentrated in the mid-palate, filled with black fruit and blueberry preserves, finishing with superb length and tannic tension. Parker suggests a drinking window from “now-2030.” He may well be conservative in terms of this wine’s longevity. (15.5% alcohol, though you never feel a hint of heat.)

96 points from The Wine Advocate. An absolute STEAL at $95/bottle. 120 bottles are up for grabs. Shipping included on 3.