2015 Lava Vine Malbec Napa Valley 750 ml

A Napa Insider’s Exclusive Under-$25 Red

Rudy von Strasser was the first-ever American intern at Château Lafite Rothschild, absorbing the lessons of the grand Pauillac First-Growth before returning to the West Coast. Nicknamed “The Prince of Cabernet,” he’s proven himself a grape whisperer for a variety that is an essential element of many Bordeaux blends: Malbec. Blending Malbec with Cabernet, locating the perfect balance of plushness and power, is an art, and one von Strasser has mastered like few others.

The Napa insider called on his 34 years of experience— especially his time among First Growths in Bordeaux—to craft a velvety, sleek 2015 Lava Vine Malbec that shows off the full extent of his considerable talents. This fuschia bottling is a limited-release Wine Access exclusive and an astonishing deal: we’re offering this bottle at half off the list price of $48. Today, just $21.99 on cases for a Malbec that marries power and structure, a black fruit core and dusty tannins, crafted by a winemaker of the highest pedigree. Only 100 cases to go around of the sharpest Napa red deal you’ll see for a long time.

After honing his craft in the cellars at Lafite Rothschild, von Strasser became the enologist at the historic, world-famous Trefethen Vineyard, then took on assistant winemaker duties at Newton Vineyards. But what really made von Strasser’s legacy was his eponymous winery on Diamond Mountain. On those steep slopes, he would produce some of California’s most thrilling, full-throttle, and long-lived mountain Cabernets, packed with black fruit power. He was instrumental in creating the Diamond Mountain AVA and won multiple “Winery of the Year” honors from Wine & Spirits.

In 2015, von Strasser sold his estate and vineyard and bought Lava Vine, started in 2004 by Joe and Jill Cabral. A beloved institution in Calistoga, Lava Vine specialized in lesser-known grape varieties and appellations, producing wines that had a strong following in Napa. The tasting room was a renovated barn where the musically-inclined staff was known to pick up their instruments on a whim and throw impromptu concerts. One of the grapes von Strasser immediately set to work to continue releasing was the Malbec—a variety so dynamic he felt it merited a solo release.

The winemaker arrived just in time to take advantage of the magnificent, hot 2015 harvest, which James Suckling called “clearly an outstanding year,” continuing: “If you are missing some of the flamboyance of Napa reds from the early 2000s, you are going to love many of the wines.” An under-$25 steal available only to Wine Access clients, this is a hidden gem that Napa enthusiasts should grab by the case.