2016 Hamel Family Wines Isthmus Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Valley 750 ml

It seems improbable that the Hamel Family’s wines remain under the radar. With Robert Parker himself declaring “they merit serious attention;” a legendary, 100-point winemaker at the helm; and vineyards in some of Sonoma’s most coveted neighborhoods; they’re on a fast-track to being Sonoma’s Next Great Winery. We’ve secured an allocation of their rich, sumptuous Isthmus, one of the best values in premier-class California reds.

The Isthmus’ winemaker is Napa legend Martha McClellan, a multi-100 point star widely known for her cult-level Napa Cabernets (including her work at Wine Access favorite Vineyard 7 & 8) as well as for Levy & McClellan, her partnership with Harlan winemaker (and her husband) Bob Levy. While her most famous bottles will take a $400+ divot out of your bank account, the 2016 Isthmus is over 75%  less, despite hailing from one of the best vintages ever in Sonoma.

The year earned the highest-ever score for California Cabernet on Wine Advocate’s vintage chart and the highest score since 1999 from Wine Spectator—and the Isthmus shows that the hype is justified. We tried it at a barbeque over the summer, in the company of a bevy of twice-as-expensive Napa names, and have been working to offer it for our members ever since.

The powerful red pours an inky ruby color and immediately perfumes the surrounding area with blackberry cobbler, garam masala, alpine violets, and fresh thyme aromas. It stopped us in our tracks that night, and the palate more than delivers on the promise of the nose, with a wave of powerful black fruit and bold, elegant tannins.

As we sat there, stunned by the quality in our glasses, a finely-mustachioed man sauntered over, with a glint in his eye. It turned out to be George Hamel III, who brought a bottle of his family’s wine to the event. We began peppering him with questions about the bottle, and the more we learned, the more it became apparent that the Isthmus is a name every California Cab lover should know.

The powerful red is a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Merlot, entirely from the family’s estate vineyards. Nun’s Canyon, located in the rocky Moon Mountain AVA on the west side of Napa Valley’s Mt. Veeder, provides mountain-fruit power and structure; the vineyard around the winery, in the western Mayacamas foothills, contributes the supple fruit that makes it so delicious now.

The Hamel family owns such spectacular vineyards in large part to Pedro Parra, one of the most in-demand terroir consultants, who literally wrote the book on soils’ impact on wine quality. They hand those sites to star vineyardist Garrett Buckland, whose client list includes Araujo and Hall, to farm biodynamically—and that’s all before Martha McClellan gets to work her magic on the immaculately sorted grapes.

It’s practically a checklist for legendary California Cabernet—and the Hamel’s Isthmus lives up to the billing. Wines like this don’t stay under the radar for long in Sonoma, though, so enjoy this while it’s still a steal.