2016 Halpin Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa Valley 750 ml

Afternoon Fireworks at Napa’s Don Giovanni

Just how Halpin managed to get his hands on this fruit, we’ll never know. We’d venture to guess that even Halpin is impressed with himself, attributing this coup to all those years he’d spent tasting wine and hosting parties from Carneros to Calistoga.

Whatever the case, today’s 2016 Halpin Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon comes from top-tier vines exclusive to the Oakville AVA—and because of the longest NDA we’ve ever had to sign, there’s nothing we can say about it, except that it’s the best Oakville-appellated wine on the market at $42.99.

Halpin, on the other hand, had a few nuggets to offer up.

“What can you tell us, Halpin?” we asked, taking a seat at the bar at Napa’s Don Giovanni restaurant recently. Halpin had been firing off his classic “you gotta meet me,” text messages in more rapid fashion than usual. It’s not that we don’t like taking a two-hour lunch on a Wednesday, we just weren’t in the mood for chit-chat.

“I can tell you just a few of the indisputable facts, and that’s it,” Halpin offered. “The flagship wine from this estate, which sells north of $300 a bottle, has earned more than 20 scores of 95 points and above from Robert Parker, including at least three 100-point scores that I know of. It’s a wine that has fooled critics into thinking it was a top Pomerol. In fact, I heard one reviewer say they’d give it more than 100 points if they could.”

Before we could ask any questions, Halpin asked the bartender for a corkscrew. General Manager Neno Giovani shot Halpin a look that resonated louder than the crying baby on the patio.

“Don’t worry, I’m paying the corkage!” exclaimed Halpin.

“I don’t care about the corkage,” shot back Neno, “you just better pour me a glass!”

The bartender handed off a Laguiole, then lined up Bordeaux Riedel glasses, and Halpin popped the cork and poured his newest elixir into each. Staining the glasses with deep, ruby tears, it peppered the room with sumptuous dark cherry and crushed violet aromas—it was a light show for the senses.

“With the best free-run juice from stunning Oakville berries, we blended just a bit of the pressed juice for that deeply rich tannic backbone. We aged it for 22 months in mostly new French oak. This is top of the line Napa Cabernet, and if you’re as good as tasters as you claim to be, you can probably tell me which side of Highway 29 this comes from—but my lips are sealed,” said Halpin, polishing off his glass.  

We’re starting to think of Halpin as the modern-day answer to Napa’s super-star consultants. He’s not the guy who is working for the untouchable cult brands, cranking out 98-, 99-, or 100-point wines. He’s the first of his kind: an iconic, under-the-radar anti-consultant, sniffing out the grapes, or even already-fermenting juice from those cult-status winemakers who can’t use everything they crushed, for one reason or another—either cash strapped, they brought in more fruit than their owners want to bottle, or the bean counters are demanding to see fewer SKUs. Whatever it is, Halpin’s Rolodex is no joke—talk turns into reality quickly.

The proof is in the pudding. Or, in this case, the 2016 Halpin Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, a powerful and exotic red, long and satiny, with black cherry fruit underscored by violets, sweet spices, and sagebrush—utterly pretty and fabulously complex. Of the 200 cases produced, we have the exclusive on every single bottle. This is one of those rare catches you do not want to let slip away.