2016 Silver Ghost Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Let’s kick off today’s missive with a few easy reasons to consider stockpiling this 2016 Silver Ghost Cabernet from Napa: “Delightfully quaffable,” notes Wine Enthusiast’s Virginie Boone in her Editors’ Choice review. “Wonderfully complex,” says Decanter. “Full-bodied with good juiciness,” says Spectator’s former European bureau chief James Suckling. 

As cool, autumn winds begin turning leaves brilliant orange-red across America, savvy buyers of Napa Valley Cabernet are not necessarily looking for the hottest new trend, as much as they’re looking for pedigree—something to savor during cold weather months and through the holiday season. Ask longtime collectors how they choose a bottle and they’ll tell you it comes down to three things. First, the winemaker. Second, location. Third, intrigue in the narrative. 

First, the winemaker is Weston Eidson, who learned from two Napa kingpins: Jason Moore of Modus Operandi, who’s flagship Cabernet sells for $250 and has earned several 94-97-point scores from Robert Parker; and Russell Bevan, a Wine Spectator Winemaker of the Year and author of many Parker 100-point wines for his own Bevan Cellars.

Second, Eidson sources fruit from Rutherford, Yountville, and Calistoga, tapping resources from his days under Moore and Bevan’s guidance. These are blue-chip Napa Valley vineyards providing grapes for triple-digit Cabernets. 

Third, the intrigue—and story you’ll share with your friends. The name “Silver Ghost” is a direct reference to the 1909 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, the favorite car of John Montagu, Eidson’s great-grandfather. Montagu was a British Lord and member of Parliament, and an early pioneer in the automobile industry. Montagu even picked the female model who embodies the classic Rolls-Royce hood ornament, the “Spirit of Ecstasy.”

Now, if you think like us at all, you’re imagining the overwhelming ecstasy of taking the $450,000 it would cost to buy one current-edition Rolls Royce, and spending it all on wine...Oh, mercy, what you could buy. For one, you could buy every single bottle of today’s Silver Ghost and still have almost enough to buy roughly an acre of vines in Napa. Just saying... 

Okay, let’s get serious again: Napa Cabernet for under-$40 produced at this level of quality does not come around often, especially when the young winemaker at the helm is easily on his own path to 100-point perfection.