2016 Ram's Gate Cabernet Sauvignon Bismark Vineyard Moon Mountain Sonoma 750 ml

Grown on the western slope of Mount Veeder, the 2016 Ram's Gate Bismark Vineyard Cabernet is a powerful, intensely concentrated wine—the kind that would easily range from $150-$200 if it came from the Napa side of the mountain. When it hits the Ram’s Gate website, it’ll be $95 per bottle, but today we’ve got the world premiere at a stunning price: just $40 for Wine Access members only. 

Our access to this incredible deal is quite simple: Ram’s Gate gets a ton of traffic at their gorgeous, rolling property on CA 121 just south of the town of Sonoma. But with tasting room visits way down, they reached out to us, and we were able to grab a good chunk of their tiny production for our members only.

Sur recently snuck this into a blind lineup of Napa mountain Cabernet—all top bottles from Mt. Veeder, Howell Mountain, and Diamond Mountain—and it was the consensus pick of the bunch, despite listing for $50+ less than the competition. "This is a wine that makes people happy," he said, perfectly summing up the Cabernet’s visceral appeal.

Nearly opaque purple in the glass, there is a next-level intensity to the wine. Each sniff reveals a different layer of cascading aromas: First showing crème de cassis, pipe tobacco, and bay, followed by sun-kissed blackberries, spice, and vanilla, the wine is kaleidoscopic. The palate is no-holds-barred as well, with a firm grip of black and blue fruits leading into classic California mountain-Cabernet flavors, with spice and mineral notes floating over a long, velvety finish.

Harsh, rocky landscapes produce red wines of power and concentration... and we'll just say that Sonoma's Moon Mountain is aptly named. Perfectly situated on the windy western side of Mount Veeder, the AVA takes everything we love about mountain-grown Napa Cabernet and turns the dial up a notch—and the Bismark vineyard takes it even further. At over 2,000 feet of elevation, well above the fog line, it gets a three-hour head start for sunlight over the valley below, taking a long growing season and making it even better for ripening powerful, intense Cabernet.

With exceptionally rocky soils and a high-altitude, west-facing exposure, Ram's Gate's Bismark Vineyard reminds us of high-altitude wines on Howell Mountain—with a notable difference in price. Single-vineyard bottlings from Napa's top mountains regularly go for $150+, and indeed this wine is slated to be released to Ram's Gate's tasting room and wine club for a cool $95.

That's a fair price for a wine grown in these perfect conditions, but we knew we could do better. At 58% off, this single-vineyard bottling is a cellar-worthy bargain—something to stock up on and drink for the next decade