2016 Parallel Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Parallel Napa Valley is more than a rarefied hillside Cabernet Sauvignon—the opulent blackberry- and cedar-scented red is also a secret password, as we learned a few years back over dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Yountville.

As we perused the wine list with a couple of visiting winemakers from Bordeaux, we gravitated toward a rare selection of Parallel vintages. When our guests leapt at the mention, the sommelier immediately declared, “You all must work in the industry.”

Amused, we slyly asked, “Why?”

Of course, we knew the answer. Parallel Napa Valley is the ultimate insider’s Cabernet. For 20 years, it’s been a quiet passion project of Philippe Melka, the Food & Wine Winemaker of the Year whom the LA Times has dubbed “Napa’s go-to virtuoso.”

A Bordeaux native, Melka has been the low-key cellar magician behind such 100-point cult stalwarts as Bryant Family, Vineyard 29, Lail, Brand, Hundred Acre, and Dalla Valle. All phenomenal wines, with equally spectacular price tags.

Because Parallel is one of Melka’s oldest projects, it continues to average $110—a bargain for anything he touches. The production is tiny, which is why whatever doesn’t get snapped up by Michelin-starred restaurants sells out every vintage to Parallel’s longtime list of Melka devotees (or heads to charity auctions where large-format Parallel Cabs have recently gone for as much as $30,000 a bottle). Pretty impressive for a winery that doesn’t spend a penny on advertising. We have this remarkable Cabernet at 50% off, making this your shot at a Melka gem for less.

Melka’s access to Napa’s top hillside vineyards goes without saying, and he sources Parallel Cabernet exclusively from the same caliber of well-draining sites he uses for his 100-point cult wines, imbuing Parallel with the style that defines him—that signature balance between supple finesse and fruit-driven intensity. This 2016 Parallel Cabernet Sauvignon is bold and full-bodied, with warm blackberry, crushed violet, espresso, and raw chocolate that harmonize on the palate with cedar and spice notes.

Our Bordeaux winemaker friends reminded us (a bit possessively if we might add!) that Melka hails from their hometown, where he cut his teeth as a winemaker at such lauded estates as Château Haut-Brion and Château Cheval Blanc. With a degree in geology, he earned a reputation for being a terroir whisperer and was recruited to California by none other than the legendary Christian Moueix of Dominus and Paul Draper of Ridge Vineyards.

Again, for those in the know, that’s pretty much résumé perfection. And those in the know are rewarded. For us, that night at Napa Valley’s flagship restaurant, the reward was back-vintage Parallel Cabernet that exceeded even our lofty expectations.

Today, reward yourself with exclusive access to this underground Napa favorite.