2016 Matthiasson Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

This 2016 Matthiasson bottling is old-school Napa Cabernet at its best, and pound-for-pound one of the best values anywhere in the Valley. If you want to understand the classically structured, magnificently balanced Cabernets that defined Napa in the ‘70s—the kind that brought the Judgement of Paris crown back home—this release is about as close as you can get in 2020.

At just $60 a bottle filled with roses, wild strawberry, and graphite, winemaker Steve Matthiasson delivers the elegance you’re accustomed to paying $150 for. He is “one of the top viticulturists in Napa Valley,” raves Antonio Galloni in Vinous. Estates like Dalla Valle, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, and Spottswoode rely on his artistry and skill in the vineyard to stay at the top of their game.

In naming Steve the Winemaker of the Year, the San Francisco Chronicle predicted: “If one person stands to rewrite the trajectory of California wine—in Napa's luxurious heart, no less—it is Steve Matthiasson.”

His own wines are made in very limited volumes, priced at extremely reasonable rates, and stand as impeccable statements of terroir transparency. That’s made wines like this gorgeous 2016 Cabernet hot items among sommeliers at the nation’s blue-chip restaurants. 

Typically, we’ve had to wait for Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, and Marea to get the first crack. But today, we’re thrilled to say that Wine Access is at the front of the line, connecting members with an opportunity to snatch a benchmark red at 1/3rd its market value.

We’ve kept Steve Matthiasson on speed-dial ever since we met him five years ago. Every couple of months, we lob in a call. Solicitous, charming, and polite—albeit resolute—he always responds with something along the lines of “Sorry, I don’t have a drop to spare,”—no surprise given Matthiasson’s placements at spots like Thomas Keller’s French Laundry and Jean-Georges on Central Park West. “But don’t give up,” we were reassured. “Keep calling. I promise I’ll find something for you down the road.”

A few weeks ago, that something finally materialized in the form of this outstanding Cabernet. In old-school fashion, the Cabernet is blended with small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot pulling on six vineyards across three AVAs.

Dead Fred Vineyard in Coombsville, a dry hilltop that soaks in sun all day long, gives luscious black fruit and big-boned concentration. The presence of classic “Rutherford dust” is immediately apparent on the nose, compliments of the gravelly elegance of York Vineyard and Helen’s Gate Vineyard. Filling out the mix, the Red Hen, Bengier, and Matthiasson sites in Oak Knoll deliver a brightness and energy derived from loamy soils and cooling winds.

“I told you guys I would deliver!” he said when we caught him on the phone. He compared his approach to winemaking to Alice Waters’ philosophy of cooking: a light touch, transparent, focused on letting the beauty of natural agriculture shine through. He doesn’t chase extraction, instead seeking aromatic delicacy and freshness on the palate.

We can’t always promise this level of access for a bottle that, at $60, hugely overdelivers, showing the touch of a master with every glass.