2013 Three Sticks Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Last Shot Ever at a Three Sticks Napa Cabernet

For those of you who already have bottles of Three Sticks Winery Cabernet Sauvignon in your cellar, and for anyone else curious about one of the greatest Napa Cabernet rarities out there, listen up: The 2013 Three Sticks Cabernet Sauvignon is the LAST Cabernet ever bottled by Three Sticks and we took every single case they produced. After all, 2013 is the year that Robert Parker labeled the “greatest vintage in 37 years” for Napa. And it so happened that upon the 2014 retirement of legendary winemaker Don Van Staaveren, author of Wine Spectator’s 1999 Wine of the Year (the 1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages), Three Sticks opted to abandon Cabernet Sauvignon almost entirely. This masterful final effort by Van Staaveren is produced from grapes off the iconic Atlas Peak vines of Elkington Setty Ranch and Ithaca Vineyards’ 10-acre Rutherford Bench plot. It was never sent to any reviewers, but recently tasted at HQ, we can tell you this is as powerful, elegantly structured, and pedigreed as Napa Cabernet comes. And at 47% off what would have been its release price, this is a no-brainer. You will not find this anywhere but on Wine Access.

If 2012 was the “watershed” year in Napa that righted the balance sheets of every Napa-based winery, the 2013s sent everyone well into the black. A floored Robert Parker couldn’t hold back as he gushed over the “mind-boggling,” “epic and awesome” wines he’d tasted, concluding that 2013 was “the greatest vintage in 37 years.” Wine Spectator argued that it rivals 2012, rating it 96 points overall. Galloni called the 2013s “viscerally thrilling,” and “the most profound, riveting, young wines I have tasted anywhere in the world.” Many others have followed suit.

As far as you could travel north or south along the Silverado Trail, conditions were as perfect as they come, from bud and bloom to fruit set, maturation, and harvest. Tinier berries than previous years ripened to full maturity with impeccable concentration, while acids remained firm.

Under these absolutely perfect conditions, a master like Don was able to shine. “Don has such a deft touch making and blending Cabernet Sauvignon that it seemed like a crime not to find some of the best grapes in Napa and see what he could do with them,” said Three Sticks owner Bill Price. We’re thankful to Bill for letting Van Staaveren show his talents, and though we’re sad that his retirement brings about an end to Three Sticks’ Cabernet program, we’re happy for Wine Access clients — the real winners who have a shot at a collector-worthy Cabernet rarity.

Jonathan Cristaldi
Editor-in-Chief, Wine Access