2016 Delightful & Strange Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley 750 ml

The Reviews Are In: “We Ordered More.”

“Napa opportunities like this come only once a decade.” At least, that’s what we thought—and what we said—when we released the inaugural vintage of Delightful & Strange, our own proprietary Napa Valley Red. But then…2016 came along.

The polished 2016 Delightful & Strange Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley—only the second release under this label—is abundant with richness 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, vanilla, and espresso beans. Full-bodied, with a rich and creamy palate balanced by flavors of fresh black cherry and notes of chocolate, with supple, chewy tannins, finishing with lingering dark fruits and terrific mouthwatering acidity.

The Wine Access members who got in on the 2016 when it was first released agreed, calling it “Excellent,” and a “Compelling, wonderfully easy wine.”

But this may have been the most telling review of all: “Kept wanting to drink more than I allow myself for a sitting. We ordered more.”

With strict NDAs in place, we’re sworn to complete secrecy from blending to bottle on this Delightful & Strange. 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.

Our own Robert Emery was hand-picked to craft the 2016 release as well as subsequent future vintages. Emery is an expert when it comes to production and blending, having learned from some of the best in the valley including 99-point superstar Tony Biagi and Joel Aiken. Luckily for Robert, 2016 ushered in a vintage that is poised to blow the lid off the string of excellent years, even better than Parker’s “greatest vintage in 37 years.” Why?

As growers from Carneros to Calistoga took stock of their harvests in 2016, they were more than pleased—they were ecstatic. A perfect growing season saw very few heat-spikes, with most days hovering around 85 degrees in Napa. Bordeaux varieties were able to ripen at a slow pace, while acids remained electrifyingly bright—the hallmark for a stellar winegrowing year.

While yields were almost at normal, again, a particular Atlas Peak winery that ordinarily sells their single-vineyard Cabernet for $110 a bottle had a bit extra. We took every barrel they were willing to part with. Then, Robert opened a bottle of 2015 for reference and set to work blending a worthy successor. “The art of blending is like composing a painting,” Robert said. “The backbone of the blend is the subject, some lots act as lowlights, some as highlights, and when used correctly they create something that is more than the sum of its parts.”

It’s a wine that ought to run upwards of $110, but because of our relationships up and down Napa Valley, and our buying power, we are able to offer the 2016 Delightful & Strange at just $29.99 per bottle. Built to last, and priced to share, we’re stocking up.