2014 Moone-Tsai Vineyards Proprietary Red Howell Mountain Hillside Blend 750 ml

Legendary Philippe Melka’s “Beauty”

Philippe Melka’s wines are highly coveted, yet invariably impossible to buy. The French-born winemaker learned the ropes from Jean-Bernard Delmas (Haut-Brion) and Christian Moueix (Petrus). According to Robert Parker, Melka is one of the world’s top winemakers — and his work at Dominus, Hundred Acre, Bryant Family, Tusk, and Dana Estates backs that up. He’s racked up many 100-point scores for wines that are mostly unobtainable. However, we’ve managed to secure an allocation of his 2014 Moone-Tsai Proprietary Red Howell Mountain Hillside Blend — a rich, full-bodied powerhouse from a vineyard 2,000 feet up on Howell Mountain. Tasting out of barrel, Antonio Galloni of Vinous rated it 93-96 points, while Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate called it “a beauty,” with “terrific minerality, gorgeous density, and an intense, full-bodied mouthfeel,” before pinning on 94 points. A limited number of cases are headed to the Moone-Tsai mailing list — and to Wine Access clients thanks to our exclusive pre-release allocation. Run, don’t walk to the “Buy” button and thank us later.

It’s hard to have a conversation about the greatest wines from Napa Valley — or indeed the world — without someone dropping the name of winemaker Philippe Melka. His studies in geology and winemaking at the University of Bordeaux landed him a job at Chateau Haut-Brion, and then at Petrus. His connection with Christian Moueix of Petrus helped bring him to Napa with Dominus. It wouldn’t be long before requests started pouring in from the top estates in Napa — including one from Larry and MaryAnn Tsai.

When the Tsais set out to produce their own line of limited production wines, they had only two non-negotiables: First, they’d only seek out grapes from the very best sites in Napa and Sonoma. Second, they’d employ the very best winemaker. From the glorious block in Las Posadas Vineyard — perched at 2,000 feet on an east-facing hillside on Howell Mountain — the masterful Melka turned out a stunner that will age gracefully and improve in your cellar for 12-15 more years.