2015 Delightful & Strange The Reserve Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley 750 ml

Rich, Ripe, Mysterious: Delightful & Strange The Reserve

We never thought we’d see a 2015 Delightful and Strange Reserve—the vintage was outstanding, and nobody was selling their fruit—but an unexpected call changed everything. Today, that one call has led to this opulent Cab, a wine from a $100 site, yours for 60% off.

Here’s what happened:

Nine years ago, we were invited by mutual friends to taste with one of the star producers of St. Helena, a winery known for its exquisite, dark, and brooding triple-digit-priced Cabernets and Cabernet Francs. But we were running late, and by the time we pulled up our friends were already swirling Cabernet, walking the vineyards with one of the owners.

Fortunately for us, the winemaker pulled up at the same time we did, the back of her F-150 sagging under the weight of a brand new Hobart dishwasher she had purchased for the tasting room. She had never met us before, but with the tasting room deserted and no one else around to help, we bonded while schlepping the heavy machine into the tasting room. It turned out to be the beginning of a long-lasting friendship.

Fast forward to 2015. We had blended the Delightful & Strange Proprietary Red, but the prospect of The Reserve was a foregone conclusion—the 2015 vintage was excellent, but drought conditions produced a tiny crop. With winemakers across the valley hunting for fruit, we had written off the idea of finding high quality Cabernet Sauvignon required for a cellar-worthy reserve.

Until the phone rang. Our Saint Helena partner called with a rare offer: enough fruit for a few barrels of wine from 2015’s exquisite season. Instantly, we knew the rich, concentrated St. Helena grapes would be perfect for a dark, brooding wine that could clear the bar set by previous bottlings of Delightful & Strange, which have earned a reputation for providing stratospheric quality—and a healthy dose of intrigue—for the price.

An hour later, we were back at the winery where we met, working on the wine we instantly knew would become the latest iteration of the Delightful & Strange The Reserve: A powerful Bordeaux-style blend aged for 20 months in French oak. For those who have already dipped into the Delightful & Strange world, it’s more of what you fell in love with. For those who are new to the brand but can’t get enough of intense and mysterious wines—if you insist on high quality but shun the stuffy and traditional—let The Reserve be your introduction to Delightful & Strange.