2017 Anderson Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon The Cave Dweller Napa Valley 750 ml

Anderson’s Conn Valley is one of the most highly-rated producers in Wine Access history, with a mile-long list of five-star ratings. Every time an offer comes up, it tends to sell out almost as soon as we hit send. 

It’s no surprise: Anderson’s Conn Valley is nestled in the same zip code as some of the most famous names in American wine—Bond’s Quella estate, Joseph Phelps, Seavey, and more—and still manages to be a standout even in that privileged company. It regularly rings in with scores in the mid- to high-90s, and has become a critical and consumer darling in recent years. 

As a personal thank you to our members, proprietor Todd Anderson invited us into the barrel cellar to create our own cuvée, a bottling available exclusively to Wine Access members, custom-blended by the top talent of Anderson’s Conn Valley and our own Wine Team. We, of course, jumped at the opportunity. After all, Wine Access is the only outsider ever given carte blanche to blend a wine at ACV since the estate’s inception in 1983.  

Today, we’re sharing the final 56 cases of this stunning and unique blend, hand-crafted by our wine team and the top-scoring talent behind Anderson Conn Valley. Fruit and spice aromas harmonize on the nose, leading to a full-bodied palate which reveals layers of plum, black cherry, cocoa, mocha, and baking spices. These last bottles are available for $47.99, a once-a-year value price for this St. Helena Cabernet. 

Different vineyard parcels, different barrels, different clones: After several exhausting hours of blending what felt like a million and three lots of Cabernet, we were stuck. This blend had to be spectacular, and while each lot sang with St. Helena terroir and multi-dimensional flavor, something was missing. 

While we were debating the flavors, tannins, and oak, our Head of Wine Vanessa Conlin was tinkering with the samples that had been laid out on the table in the barrel room. 

She took a sip and froze. “Um, guys?” she called out to us. “You need to taste this.”

Even the Anderson team was stunned by the blend, and we all realized immediately that Vanessa’s intuition was spot on. Inspired by her last trip to Bordeaux, Vanessa had added 1% Cabernet Franc to the blend. Suddenly the wine before us wasn’t just another Napa Cabernet with black-fruit flavors, deep concentration, and firm tannins. It was ethereal—combining peppery spice, violets, and cassis, with ACV’s signature black fruit flavors, plus blackberry aromas and a finish driven by cocoa and exotic spices.

“A dash of Franc—that’s what it needed!” Vanessa proclaimed.

Her finely trained palate and instinct had transformed the Cabernet. And now that it has spent several months in bottle, it has taken on all of the concentration and density that we expected it to—the currants and chocolate notes are even more pronounced, and the herbal framing and signature St. Helena terroir are shining through even more boldly than they did that March morning.

There’s just one spoiler: We can’t recreate this wine. Once it’s gone, there’s no more 1% Cab Franc, and this stunning Cabernet won’t be back. We suggest stocking up while you can.