2016 Eisele Vineyard Altagracia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Before Kronos, before Martha’s, before To Kalon, there was Eisele Vineyard. When we talk about important Napa parcels, we always start here, just outside of Calistoga. Eisele Vineyard epitomizes why single-vineyard wines exist, because it offers a unique balance of elegance and power that stands alone in this part of the Valley for quality. It’s why Eisele Vineyard wines have been lighting up the scoreboards for decades and why today’s bottle got 95 points from the Wine Advocate.

Cabernet from the Eisele Vineyard has been made into wine by some of the very top names in America. Joseph Phelps, Conn Creek, Paul Draper at Ridge, Araujo. Eisele is an icon. And now for the first time from Wine Access, we present your chance to taste one of the great wines from this storied vineyard: Altagracia.

A Cab-dominant blend with support from Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, Altagracia offers almost all the depth and cellar-worthiness of the flagship 100% Cabernet, but at one fifth the price. It’s gorgeous: fresh and alive on the nose with black currant, blackberry, and tobacco notes intermingled with dusty earth tones and new leather. The palate is energetic while carrying a restrained sophistication and chiseled muscularity. There is nothing exaggerated here. The components are ripe but not heavy, and the wine still delivers power, intensity, and incredible length.

The alluvial volcanic soils fanning out from the base of the Vaca Palisades offer terrific drainage, which translates first into low yields and then into concentrated character in the glass. Former owner Bart Araujo (Altagracia is named for his grandmother) loved how wines from here offered “weight but without heaviness.” The team at Château Latour (yes, that Latour) were so impressed with the high quality and individual character of the wines, as well as the meticulous biodynamic farming that they chose Eisele Vineyard as their outpost in the Western Hemisphere. 

When it was first converted to agriculture in the 1840s, Eisele Vineyard was mostly used for pasturing cattle and horses and growing wheat, complete with on-site gristmill. But in 1884 vines were planted here and the future—not just of this plot of land, but of Napa Valley—was altered.

Then came the modern era for the estate, with Milt & Barbara Eisele purchasing it in the ‘60s, giving it their name, and converting it to Cabernet Sauvignon. The Eisele name would start appearing on Ridge bottles shortly thereafter, when Paul Draper made it just the third vineyard-designated Cabernet bottled in Napa. Conn Creek and Joseph Phelps followed, until another couple bought the property and decided to estate-bottle.

Daphne and Bart Araujo made their name in the world of wine by the careful attention they gave to the farming here and to the wines they were able to make as a result. Tipped off about the estate by the founder of Screaming Eagle, it was the Araujos who converted the estate first to organic farming, then upped the ante again by integrating biodynamics. Today the Eisele Vineyard (as it is now called) is under the capable stewardship of Groupe Artémis, which also owns Château-Grillet, Clos de Tart, Domaine d’Eugénie, and Château Latour in France. Grands Crus all around, and Eisele Vineyard is right at home in the mix.

Artémis have made small but important changes, all with an eye to quality. The rows are now tilled, in order to force the vines to send roots deeper down in search of moisture, which gives them access to water even in drought years. Some trellising is being converted to the upright style you see in the Northern Rhône, so as to give more balanced sun-shade exposure to the ripening grapes. In the cellar, the barrel room is now temperature-controlled and the barriques are at a lower toast, so as to let the vineyard itself speak louder. Lastly, taking a note out of the group’s own Bordeaux book, the new team leader (Hélène Mingot) does the blend before the élevage rather than after.

Truly, this is one of the most important vineyards in America, with one of the longest histories. The 98-point 2016 vintage had an early start, followed by what the estate characterized as an “amiable” summer giving gentle ripening, and an unhurried harvest under ideal conditions. All that is noble—dare we say Grand Cru—about Eisele Vineyard is on offer in this bottle. We’ve got a tiny allocation direct from the winery, so provenance is perfect. Don’t wait to claim yours.