2016 Sang-Froid Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Saint Helena Napa Valley 750 ml

What if you got in on Colgin or Grace Family in its first vintages? That’s what we thought as the minute-long finish of the 2016 Sang-Froid Cabernet Sauvignon finally started to fade—and we realized were in the presence of a new Cabernet superstar. With 95+ points from Jeb Dunnuck and 95 from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate in just its second vintage, Sang-Froid is on the path of the great, not to mention unobtainable, Cabernets of Napa Valley. Yes, those. Bar none.

Our small allocation is an invitation to Wine Access members to claim a few bottles of a tiny-production Cabernet that will soon be mailing list-only, since Sang-Froid produces just five barrels of its estate Cabernet. Also consider that the 95-point accolade it earned from Wine Advocate matches the one that Colgin Cellars earned in its second vintage—when it was dubbed an “up and coming superstar” by Robert Parker.
 
Jeb Dunnuck’s 95+ point review is packed with more superlatives than we can fit: It’s got a “thrilling bouquet,” and is “beautifully complex,” with “full-bodied richness, notable freshness and purity.” He wrapped it up by calling it a “brilliant wine,” and finally concluding: “This is the first time I’ve tasted a wine from this estate, but I’m certainly impressed.” 

Showing deep blackberry liqueur, espresso, black olives, and a beautifully defined graphite mineral edge, this Napa Valley instant classic has California opulence with the muscular, angular cut of Left Bank Bordeaux. 
 
Lots of new wineries start out dreaming of cult status. Few attain it. But then again, very few have what Sang-Froid has: 1.06 acres of pristine terroir in St. Helena, where its neighbors include Grace Family—the $359 wine known as one of Napa’s first cult collectibles—as well as Colgin’s five-time Advocate 100-pointer Tychson Hill Vineyard, and Vineyard 29 (yet another Advocate 100 pointer). This precious land is home to thirty-year-old Cabernet vines cut from Grace Family, and planted by legendary vineyard manager Jim Barbour. These vines, which produce small-bunch, small-berry Cabernet, descend from the famed Bosché vineyard.
 
Sang-Froid’s winemaking is ironclad as well, led by Keith Emerson, whom Vineyard 29 chose to succeed Heidi Barrett and Philippe Melka. The grapes are destemmed, optically sorted, and fermented using indigenous yeast, before spending 22 months in 70% new Taransaud, Boutes, and Remond barrels. The result is a stunning early vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon—one we, and the critics, can’t stop marveling at. It’s hard to imagine a limit to what Sang-Froid will achieve, and even harder to imagine a better opportunity to get in on the ground floor.