2014 Chad Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Sourced from a True Parker Darling

Chad has outdone himself. For his under-$30 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, Chad got his hands on fruit from one of Napa’s best estates, a true Parker darling. We can’t say where — as usual an NDA has our lips sealed — but we can tell you that the bulk of the winery’s production went into five estate releases that earned between 93 and 96+ points from the Advocate. 

When we pulled up next to Chad in the Meadowood parking lot, he was fired up, fresh off of several meetings with “big-time Bay Area restaurants,” who were shopping for wines to pour by the glass. Chad’s 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley had apparently made the shortlist, and we weren’t surprised. We had just been talking with another friend, Michael Madrigale, about Chad’s wines, and Wine Enthusiast’s #1 Sommelier in America reminded us that he and his fellow top NYC somms were already pouring Chad’s wines. It would only be a matter of time before they exploded on the West Coast.

That evening our plan had been to eat at the Meadowood bar, but our friend’s hot streak had changed things. “I can’t join you tonight, I’m sorry,” he told us. “I’ve got to meet with another restaurant about the wine, but here, I want you to taste it.” Chad then proceeded to reach into a cooler in his back seat and pull out a perfectly chilled bottle of the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, along with a travel case containing two Riedel glasses. He poured out four liquid ounces of gorgeous opaque purple; we swirled, smelled, and sipped.

Densely concentrated, silken in texture, packed with blackberry and mountain blueberry preserves, and $27.99? We immediately we knew why the Bay Area’s elite were hot on Chad’s tail. And we knew we had to beat them to the punch. “How much do you have?” we asked our friend. “200 cases,” he replied. “We’ll take them all.”