2016 Carte Blanche Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley 750 ml

The 2016 Carte Blanche Proprietary Red is a monument—statuesque in its grandeur. Deep and dark as midnight, suffused with perfect blackberry and blueberry, cacao, graphite, and tobacco. Jeb Dunnuck called it “St. Emilion-like,” a “powerful yet elegant wine from Keplinger.” 

For a wine of this stature—one crafted by a hall-of-famer like Helen Keplinger and comprised of fruit from Beckstoffer vineyards, AKA the absolute best of the best—we’d normally begin with a long list of attributes (keep reading and you’ll find one). But normally, a wine of this stature wouldn’t cost $150. It would cost $250 or $350 or more. So we’re starting with the numbers. 

There were only 150 cases made of the 95-point 2016 Carte Blanche Proprietary Red, and we only managed to lock in EIGHT of them. That’s 96 bottles. 96 bottles that measure up to the PerUs Alessio Proprietary Red (95 points, $295), Peter Michael’s Les Pavots (98+ points, $240), and Chateau Boswell’s Estate Red Wine  (96+ points, $325). 

At $150 flat, and boasting the immense complexity of “crushed rocks, and cedary, spice-laced aromas and textures,” “terrific tannin quality,” and a miles-long fruit-driven finish, this is our pick for the top high-end value Napa has to offer. Lock yours in before 96 bottles become 0. 

The pedigree of the 2016 Proprietary Red originates with the estate’s owner, Nicholas Allen, whose family’s wine business, Domaine Clarence Dillon, owns the revered Bordeaux Châteaux Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion. In true First Growth style, no expense is spared at Carte Blanche. The name itself is French for “complete freedom,” and the decisions that Allen has made at Carte Blanche answer the questions: What would an ambitious Napa Valley producer do if he could hire any winemaker? Harvest any grapes? Purchase any barrels?  

Allen’s winemaker of choice is Food & Wine Winemaker of the Year Helen Keplinger—one of the few California winemakers who has also graced the cover of Wine Spectator. Keplinger’s credentials are impeccable: Not only does she have her own lauded label of California reds, she currently makes wine for Grace Family Vineyards and previously worked for Bryant Family, and alongside Cabernet luminaries Heidi Peterson Barrett, David Abreu, and Michel Rolland. 

Carte Blanche has applied Keplinger’s talent to raw materials that are also second-to-none. The 2016 Proprietary Red is composed of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon grown in the stony loam soils of Andy Beckstoffer’s Missouri Hopper Vineyard in Oakville, 29% Merlot from Beckstoffer’s Orchard Vineyard in Napa, and 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot from Sage Canyon Vineyard. The seamless blend was set to rest for 22 months in 100% new French oak barrels, hand-crafted by the peerless artisans at Darnajou and Taransaud.

From start to finish the 2016 Proprietary Red is pure pedigree and its $150 value is second to none. For collectors and new initiates alike it is worth every penny and then some. Don’t miss this unparalleled Napa Valley superstar.