2016 Karo-Kann Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley 750 ml

We sourced the 2016 Karo-Kann Reserve from $110+ vineyards—primarily from a historic Stags Leap District winery, one of just six California estates selected for the legendary 1976 Judgement of Paris—that had multiple 2016 releases score 94 points or higher. Then we gave it the longest aging regimen ever for a Wine Access proprietary wine. It’s a can’t-miss Cabernet. 

Way back in the late summer of 2016, we walked the vines at the world-class Stags Leap estate, kicking up red volcanic dust as we admired the impeccable rows of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. The clusters were pristine and uniform: tight-fisted with small berries, primed to deliver the extraordinary dark-fruit concentration and luxurious texture for which the stalwart winery is known. 

After that, we sought out sites in Oakville, St. Helena, and Yountville that would add ultra-ripe drive, complexity, and lift to what we had in mind. Then we bet big.  

When the 2016 wines rolled out of cellars across the Valley, critics poured on the praise. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate awarded a 98-point rating to the 2016 vintage, tying the highest score of the last 20 years. James Suckling called the year “outstanding,” while Vinous hailed its “gorgeous wines endowed with striking aromatic intensity, nuance and depth.” 

After 22 months in French oak cooperage, our Reserve was shining with class. But we wanted to take things a step further, so we let it rest in bottle even longer. Finally, just this spring, we released the wine to our members, and the raves have been rolling in. As one five-star reviewer put it: “Just as good as advertised. Marvelously fresh, already aromatic in the glass, with explosive fruit that I am beginning to believe is the signature of 2016, but all these elements are in complete balance.” 

Five years after it was hand-harvested, the 2016 Karo-Kann Reserve is deep, polished, and persistent. Ripe blackberry, black currant, dark cherry, and cassis aromas leap from the glass, delivering incredible freshness along with the fruit purity and intensity garnered from a long cellar slumber. Mocha, spearmint, and violet add layer upon layer of complexity, winding seamlessly through the luxurious dark-fruited opulence. 

The 2016 Reserve will go down as one of the classic Karo-Kann bottlings. It was hand-picked from the best Napa has to offer, hand-crafted from start to finish, then stashed away at a chilly 54 degrees for years. Today, we’re delivering it to you at the kind of razor-sharp price that’s made possible only by lifelong relationships in the Valley. 

This combination of value, pedigree, and ageworthy brilliance is what Karo-Kann is all about.