2015 Delightful & Strange Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley 750 ml

Napa opportunities like this come only once a decade. In 2015, more than a few stalwart producers wound up with world-class fruit, but not enough to justify bottling one or more of their tasting-room-only, rich, decadent reds. So it was pure serendipity when the moment to act came after one mid-summer meeting with a St. Helena winery that ordinarily sells their Cabernet for $100 a bottle. A handshake deal brought us to one of the most exciting moments in Wine Access history: The first-ever release of our own 2015 Delightful & Strange Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley, crafted by a Master of Wine, this rich and creamy cuvée is packed with abundant ripe black and blue fruit, spices, chocolate and vanilla flavors, balanced by supple, chewy tannins. It’s worthy of a $100 price tag, but is only $29 per bottle. It was a favorite among our clientele, back in The Store for a limited-time release.

With strict NDAs in place, we’re sworn to complete secrecy from blending to bottle. Here’s what we can tell you: the main Cabernet components hail from two mountain producers, one on Mt. Veeder, and one on Atlas Peak—sourced from a winery that ordinarily sells their single-vineyard wines for at least $110, and has racked up scores as high as 95 points from Robert Parker. 

The blend is rounded out with a smattering of select Bordeaux varieties from Rutherford, Stags Leap, and the Carneros vineyard of Napa's most famous grower. It was aged 18 months in exquisite French oak barrels, of which 50 percent is new, lending brilliantly integrated sweet spice and structure. 

The 2015 Delightful & Strange Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley is abundant with riches but full of mystery. It’s the kind of wine we love to drink at home—bold and opulent, packed with aromas of wild blackberry, blueberry, and pomegranate, tinged with pops of licorice, cinnamon, mocha, vanillin, and espresso bean. The palate is rich and creamy, with balancing freshness and supple, chewy tannins. Drink now or stash in the cellar until 2025.