2014 Sueno Profundo Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley 750 ml

Rich Mountain Cabernet from Chappellet’s #2

Back in 2010, legendary Chappellet winemaker Phillip Titus introduced us to his protege on Pritchard Hill. Since then, the precocious Ry Richards has treated Wine Access clients to a series of extraordinary Cabernets from his own label, each vintage gaining in complexity, elegance, and broad-shouldered Napa power. Topping them all is today’s 2014 Sueño Profundo Napa Valley Reserve. Glistening dark-ruby, rich, sappy, and dense — a true blockbuster from the year Wine Spectator called a “dream vintage.” While in quality terms, the 2014 Sueño can be compared to $75 reserve-calibre Napa Cabernets, Ry has just a handful of cases left for Wine Access clients at the exclusive low price of $24.99 per bottle.

The 12-barrel production of Richards’ 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve was drawn from the rocky eastern hillsides above St. Helena where Conn Creek flows off of Howell Mountain, a stone’s throw from Anderson’s Conn Valley and Seavey. To call it pedigreed terroir would be an understatement. In those hills, the soil is especially mineral-rich and well-draining, and water is scarce. As Ry told us, “The Cabernet up there takes on a whole new level of concentration and complexity.”

During that first meeting back in 2010, Phillip gave Ry two pieces of advice: Don’t expand too quickly, and remember who your friends are. His words didn’t fall on deaf ears. Ry has slowly built an emerging cult winery. Production started small and remains so. Nor has Ry forgotten our early support of his label. While the 2014 could easily fetch $75, Ry has offered Wine Access clients the exclusive price of $24.99 per bottle — a veteran move by a young winemaker on the rise.