2014 Chad Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder 750 ml

Chad’s First 100-point Winemaker — No Guessing Game on Mt. Veeder

“Sure, I heard some things,” Chad told us. “Brokers told me that things were ‘backing up.’ But until three weeks ago, all the regular suspects were denying it, claiming that their wholesale business was strong and DTC was booming.” Chad sipped his standard double cappuccino at the Napa Valley Roasting Company, white foam coating his red mustache. “Then I got one call from a big name on Silverado Trail. Another from White Cottage Road on Howell Mountain. But when I got this last one from the superstar winemaker of Mount Veeder, I realized that the shoe wasn’t ABOUT to drop — it has ALREADY dropped!”

When we visited Napa Valley in May 2014 to barrel-taste the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignons, we set aside two days to walk rows on the valley floor and on each of the mountain AVAs — Spring Mountain, Howell Mountain, and Mount Veeder. The first days of May were sweltering, with the daytime highs surpassing 90 degrees, and well over 100 in the vines. Thanks to another mild winter, once again the vines were two weeks ahead. Most surprisingly, particularly given the record yields of 2012 and 2013, even at the top of Howell Mountain and Mount Veeder, the vines were “loaded” with clusters. While tasting the 2013s with mountain winemakers, all said that if the weather held out, even after dropping fruit aggressively, they’d have another bumper crop, and a vintage that much resembled 2013.

“I made great Cabernet off Robin Williams’ property at the top of Mount Veeder for years,” Chad said. “I saw pretty big harvests back-to-back where yields topped three tons per acre. But typically, after two big ones, there was a shorty. Not this time. 2014 was nearly as big as 2013 and 2012 — with yields between four and FIVE tons per acre. Qualitatively, Parker nailed it again in his vintage report. Great concentration. Dark color. The third in the greatest back-to-back-to-back vintages in Napa Valley history!”

Chad pulled a bottle and three Riedel stems from his carrying bag. “Pick it up,” he laughed.

“These guys have never seen a budget they can’t exceed.”

The glass was extra heavy, the shoulders wide, the neck elegantly tapered, the punt a half-thumb deep. He poured generously. “This comes from the best spot on the mountain, not far from Robin’s place. The berries are always tiny. Skins are thick. In great vintages, when the seeds and tannins ripen, you can really gamble in the cellar. They told me they kept the fermentation temperatures cool for 35 days, pushing extraction to the limit. What do you think?”

Chad’s mystery Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon was black — not violet or purple, black like ink. Initially reserved aromatically, with tightly wound aromas of crushed blackberry, licorice, and graphite, framed with LOTS of new-wood cedar. Dense, sappy, and chewy texturally, MASSIVELY concentrated and tightly wound, with gobs of black-fruit preserves, it took 45 minutes for this 2014 powerhouse to begin to shed its baby fat, showing off all the complexities of its mineral underpinnings.

Typically, at this moment in our conversation with Chad, we try to get him to slip up, to reveal the identity of the winery and winemaker. But this time, there would be no guessing game. Unlike on Howell Mountain, just a small handful of wineries — and winemakers — rule the roost on Mount Veeder. This time, we told Chad not only the name of the winery, but also its 100-point winemaker, a friend from the early days of WineAccess.

Chad wouldn’t confirm our suggestion of the winery or the winemaker’s name, nor would he deny it.

Compared to $120. A razor-sharp $29 today EXCLUSIVELY on WineAccess. Shipping included on 4.

NOTE: Like all of this 100-point winemaker’s mountain Cabernets, this wine is HUGE. As a result, Chad refused to release his 2014 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon until September 20th, adding that had it not been for cash-flow concerns, he would wait until the spring of 2017. More so than ever, considerable dividends will be paid out to the patient.