2013 Snowden Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon The Ranch Napa Valley 750 ml

Like TUMS for Your Sticker Shock: 93-Point 2013 Snowden “The Ranch” Cabernet Sauvignon

We normally enjoy the vintage reports of Robert Parker, Antonio Galloni, and Wine Spectator, but this morning the most influential critics in the wine industry have us reaching for the TUMS. When all three chime in on a common chord, driving already outlandish prices for the roof, we can’t help but groan. Where are the days when one could pick up a few bottles of Premier Cru Burgundy for less than $75? What happened to those wildly aromatic $35/bottle single-vineyard Barolos and Barbarescos?

But more than anything, what most has us feeling queasy are the soaring prices of Napa Valley’s (admittedly herculean) 2013 Cabernet Sauvignons.

Wine Spectator primed the Napa Valley pump, calling 2013 “an ideal season.” Then Parker came on like gangbusters, posting a record 19 perfect 100-point ratings, before calling 2013 “the greatest vintage in 37 years.” Finally it was Galloni’s turn. Parker’s former protege has always been stingier than his mentor’s, causing many to suggest that if you want to compare a Parker score to Galloni’s, it’s best to just “subtract two.” Galloni poured fuel on The Wine Advocate’s Napa Valley fire, publishing a record 46 reviews of 97 points or more.

Based on our analysis, in the most prized AVAs — Howell Mountain, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Oakville — the AVERAGE price of top-rated Galloni and Parker 2013s is nearly $150/bottle. How does that affect Napa Valley collectors who, like us, have a bad case of sticker shock?

It means that when just 40 cases of Galloni’s 93-point BARGAIN of the year are made available to WineAccess for $39 per bottle — YOU BUY IMMEDIATELY.

The Snowden family ranch is one of the most magnificent in Napa Valley. Just 23 acres of the 160-acre estate are planted to vines. Set on the eastern slopes of the valley between St. Helena and Rutherford, Phelps, Sloan, and Seavey are just a stone’s throw away. At a time when much of the farming on the valley floor is becoming more mechanized, the Snowdens “tailor” each vine by hand, eschewing the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides.

In a 2013 growing season that will never be forgotten in Napa Valley, barely a drop of rain fell from winter to late August. But despite the extraordinarily arid conditions, the 2013 growing season was also quite cool, featuring just one month where temperatures exceeded 100 degrees (the end of June). Other than that, as we were told by Randy Snowden, 2013 was “near perfect.” Still cooler than 2012, and under turquoise skies, daytime highs hovered between the mid-80s and low 90s. Those mild conditions allowed the Snowdens to hand-harvest at their leisure. The first call to harvest came on September 9th, with every cluster finally clipped on September 14th.

The 2013 Snowden Cabernet Sauvignon “The Ranch” is the richest and most age-worthy ever to come off this superstar estate. Opaque purple to the edge. Bold and voluptuous aromas of crushed black fruits, black olive, graphite, and mint, bracketed by cedar (aged entirely in French cooperage, 50% of which was new). Intensely concentrated, filled with gobs of blackberry and black cherry preserves, licorice, and tobacco, finishing with the fine dusty-tannin finish so common to top-pedigree Cabernets of Rutherford and St. Helena. Beautifully balanced at 14.5% alcohol, the 2013 “The Ranch” is luscious on release but, like all of the great Snowden estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignons, will continue to age gracefully over the next 10-15 years.

$52 on release. $39 today on WineAccess — as long as 480 bottles will last.