2015 Hoopes Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

“You sure you’re not forgetting a ‘one’ in front of that number?” we asked. Lindsay Hoopes had just told us the price of the 2015 Hoopes Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, which is grown primarily on a tiny ten-acre plot right next to the To Kalon vineyard in Oakville—the site that supplies Opus One and some of the grandest wines in Napa Valley.

We were only half-joking. Taking in the deep aromas of black currant, plum, and cherry, then letting the plush tannins linger and fade, our palate told us that this kind of estate-grown Cabernet had to go for $125 or $150. But Lindsay Hoopes just shook her head at the question. “We’ve only raised the price once in the last decade,” she said, smiling, swirling, then taking another sip.

We knew it from that moment: The 2015 Hoopes was one of the best Napa Cabernets that we hadn’t yet had the chance to offer—and one of the best $50 Cabs we'd ever tasted in our life. That’s why we claimed as much as we could for Wine Access members, why our members have responded by buying every bottle we could get, and why we're thrilled to bring it back to you today. 

For Napa Valley, where estate-grown Cabernets fetch infinite prices and bottles this good are practically unheard of under $100, Hoopes is a reminder of why we live here: There are always hidden gems, if you know where to look. 

The Hoopes family history is what makes a bargain like this possible. Lindsay’s father planted the vineyard back in 1983, and they have grown fruit there ever since. For fifteen years, they sold the Cabernet grapes, supplying some of the top wines in the area. Finally, in 1999, they decided to make their own Cabernet. Since they’re not buying fruit from outside growers, they don’t have to contend with crop prices that rise higher and higher every vintage.

“This is what we’ve been aiming for all along,” Lindsay said, as our bottle of 2015 got lower and lower. “We wanted to make a wine that could be enjoyed early, but that could also age. We didn’t want it to be overwhelming with food…” (This is a good time to add that it was heavenly with the Mongolian pork chop at Mustards Grill.) …”but we definitely wanted it to still be able to stand out on its own.”

Hoopes might stand out on its own, but it blends right in, quality-wise, with its neighbors in one of the most sought-after districts in Napa Valley: wineries like Cardinale and Paradigm, whose flagship reds from the same vintage fetch substantially more than this one (Cardinale is pushing $300!).

Spencer Hoopes’ decision to bottle his own wine came when phylloxera struck, and Hoopes Family Vineyard was the only one in the area that remained completely unaffected. That made some of their customers, many of them iconic producers, want to use the Hoopes Vineyard name on their own labels. Spencer figured that if his land’s name was good enough for his famous (and famously expensive) customers, then he would make his own wine.

The first vintage was in 1999, and Hoopes has been a local benchmark ever since. Lindsay took over in 2012, and the Napa Valley Cabernet has become her calling card. She crafts it to be more food-friendly than most classic Cabs from the region. Sleek, aromatic, and showing plush tannins, it exudes classic characteristics that were once eclipsed by the overblown styles of the area. With perceptible enthusiasm in her voice, she calls her wine “the New Napa.” 

Alongside winemaker Anne Vawter, a close friend of ours who worked for four years with the legendary Heidi Peterson Barrett, and co-winemaker Jennifer Rue, Lindsay cut the use of oak by 40%, and the trio invented their own unique blend pulled from the clones of Spencer’s original vineyard. The result is a Cabernet that stands alone in the Napa wine pantheon.

2015 was a low-yielding vintage, and Lindsay’s all-female team had half the grapes to work with than they usually do. Through vision and a deep understanding of their land, they were able to craft something unforgettably delicious. This is your chance to experience the same magic that we did. This might be the “new Napa,” but it is classic quality, at a price that makes us long for days that we thought were long past.