2014 Whitehall Lane Leonardini Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena 750 ml

The Wine Access history books are overflowing with phenomenal Napa Cabernets, but only one can claim the #1 best-seller title: Whitehall Lane. As a result, we were able to grab a few cases of their rare, estate-direct 2014 Leonardini Vineyard Cab, a gracefully aged, back-vintage prize.

Whitehall Lane has several vineyards in coveted locations across St. Helena and Rutherford, yet this is the one—in the same neighborhood as Dana and Alpha Omega—that the owners honored with their name. Grown on its best vines in Wine Spectator’s 2014 “dream vintage,” it’s a robust Cab that’s used every bit of its seven years in the cellar to develop intimate complexity, pulling us further into its dark-fruited depths with every sip.

Members lavished our last back-vintage Leonardini Vineyard Cabernet with a superb 4.5 out of 5 rating—the exact same score as icons like the Joseph Phelps Insignia. And this 2014 is another stellar release, praised by Robert Parker as “rich” and “lusty” when he first tasted it. 

Our virtual shelves and Wine Team tastings aren’t the only places where Whitehall Lane is a star. They’ve got a stop-and-stare critical trophy case, boasting several appearances on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list—including two in the top five—and a Wine & Spirits Winery of the Year award. 

Unsurprisingly, their back-vintage Cabernets are incredibly elusive. But Wine Access members’ enthusiasm for previous offers (and a little friendly negotiating with our friend, Whitehall Lane’s Tom Leonardini II) secured us a tiny share of this single-vineyard sensation. 

2014 gave the Leonardini vines a whole lot to love, when Napa enjoyed “one of its best years in the last two decades,” according to James Suckling. The third in a streak of drought years, its hot, dry growing season imbued the Cabernet with intense concentration. The year’s consistency was incredible, with no heat spikes, preserving excellent acidity and velvety tannins.

Whenever we meet Tom Leonardini II for lunch, it seems we leave with a Wine Access sellout in the works. Even among the tantalizing aromas of Bolognese pasta and Tagliata Steak on the table, the wine’s layered dark cherry, plum, licorice, and tobacco aromas caught our attention. Our first sip, full of dark fruit and graphite complexity, had us glancing at Tom with raised eyebrows and “you’ve done it again” smiles. Several years of careful cellaring had elevated an already-stellar Cab to new heights.  

He knew our question before we even asked. “There’s not a lot left,” he said. But after we reminded him of our members’ rabid devotion to Whitehall Lane, he relented a few of the remaining cases, and we’re thrilled to offer them today.