2014 Halpin Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Napa Valley 750 ml

The Savvy Buy of Wine Spectator’s “Dream” Vintage

There’s a lot to say about our friend Halpin, a true Napa insider, but only one thing to make clear about today’s offer: When he introduced us to his namesake 2014 Halpin Rutherford Cabernet, we pegged it for one that costs $150 or even $200. Richly layered and complex, with juicy red fruits, warm baking spices, and firm tannins—the hallmarks of top bottlings, but priced to drink by the case.

This year, Halpin’s Rutherford release sold more than any other wine, and the customer service team at our Napa headquarters has spent hours fielding calls from thirsty Wine Access clients clamoring for more. As a result, we're offering up our last 100 cases.

We’d planned to cellar this ripe, dense California Cabernet ourselves, but when Wine Access clients ask, we listen: Have at it, the last of the Halpin Rutherford from the stunning 2014 vintage, a bottle dripping with pedigree and luscious fruit, and ready to evolve over the next decade.

We know that’s what Halpin is doing: Halpin is the kind of guy who appreciates a $150 Napa Cab, but would rather spend $40, and he’s learned to find immense value in great vintages that get wedged between epic seasons. He’s got a healthy stash of Bordeaux from ‘81 and ‘83, for instance. Ask him what else he’s stocked up on and he won’t miss a beat: “2014s from Napa. They’re like the ‘82s of Bordeaux. I buy them by the case.”  

Despite the bell curve in vintage scores from 2012-2016, it’s been a bull market on price tags of big-name Napa Cabs, especially from Rutherford, where some wineries have continued to push the price envelope higher and higher. Beaulieu Vineyard’s Georges de Latour is up to $150, a bottle of Staglin Cabernet hovers around $200, while Frank Family will set you back $225, and Schrader starts around $400 a pop.

But “Halpin,” the auspicious brand that was launched at a Napa Valley dinner party, was always playing at insider trading. Since 2012, most wineries have been riding the gravy train of critical praise, then along came 2014—a year savvy collectors, like Halpin, zeroed in on for its soft, supple, early-drinking appeal, while everyone else clamored for the 2013s and 2015s. Top wineries didn’t want to lower their prices on the 2014s and it started impacting the bottom line. But thanks to Halpin, they’ll never have to admit it. Here’s why.

Halpin’s sly winemaker and partner, Ry Richards, the protege of 100-point legend Phil Titus, waited for the praise of 2015 and 2016 to reach a critical peak, before checking in with his winemaking pals in certain well-established wineries from Carneros to Calistoga. The result was that Richards had his pick of phenomenally-concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon from more than a few of the most prestigious wineries along Highway 29.

One lot of Rutherford Cabernet that he settled on was sourced from the foothills of the Mayacamas, a stone’s throw from vines that supply BV’s Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet. The source winery’s own house Cab in the same vintage racked up an impressive series of scores ranging from 95+ to 97 points from Parker’s Wine Advocate, Antonio Galloni’s Vinous, and Spectator’s former European bureau chief, James Suckling.

Although the winery kept most for themselves for their $200 flagship wine, Richards was able to pry away 20 barrels, supplying the GM with a much-needed cash-flow. After tasting the 2014 Halpin Rutherford Cabernet we were so impressed that we offered to take the entire 500-case production.

Deftly blended by Richards, the inaugural 2014 Halpin Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley leverages 93% Cabernet with a splash of Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, and Merlot, aged 22 months in French oak. It shows opaque ruby in the glass, with lifted aromas of boysenberry fruit and baking spices, while the palate is layered with juicy red berry fruit and strawberry compote underscored by an earthy quality that evolves into a nice mineral through-line. Sturdy Rutherford tannins are chewy, revealing more earth, and graphite, before a segue to a black cherry finish, tinged with savory black olive notes.