2017 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 750 ml

There are still quite a few white whales out there—one-of-a-kind Napa Valley Cabernets we’ve been literally working for years to secure for Wine Access members—and today I’m thrilled to announce that we’ve harpooned a huge one: the polished, black-as-night-intense, superbly structured 2017 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. 

A friendship I made while studying for the Advanced Sommelier exam more than a decade ago led us to this first-class, brooding, age-worthy Cabernet—the kind of wine that has made Pride one of the most iconic producers in Napa Valley. Most of their wine goes to top restaurants and a rabid mailing list, and they could surely sell three or four more times wine than they do, especially at their price of $76 per bottle. But production is limited because Pride is about place—every grape that goes into this bottle is grown on their 85 acres of mountain vineyards, and every sip tells the story of this inimitable place high above the Napa Valley floor.

The 2017 is an opaque powerhouse with a nose laden with black currant, blackberry, and black plum, and adorned with cedar plank, spiced tobacco, bay, and new conditioned leather. With the rocky minerality of this singular site fully woven in with the full body along with tasteful toasted oak, it’s seamless and ready for enjoyment now, but will certainly reward time in the cellar.

Because Wine Access members like you snapped up our first bottles of Pride Cabernet, I’m reaching out today with a second allocation. 

Click here to claim your share of this Napa Cabernet icon.

Back when Jim and Carolyn Pride founded Pride Mountain Vineyards, which straddles Napa and Sonoma counties at the top of the Mayacamas Mountains, you’d hardly see a sign of humanity on the drive to their property. These days, it’s not too different. A few wineries have popped up on Spring Mountain Road in the last three decades, but Pride still feels about as far-flung as it did in 1989. 

It’s not just the solitude that makes this 235-acre, 2,100’ site special, nor is it the view, which beats just about any other in Northern California. It’s the conditions, some of which are special to mountain sites, and some which are unique to Pride: The estate is dominated by south-facing vineyards—something uncommon on Spring Mountain—and like the best high-altitude sites, it sits above the fog line. That means daylong sunshine and cool mountain air, which combine to make for slow, steady, ideal ripening.

The Pride site has grown grapes for more than a century—the ruins of the original Summit Winery still sit on the property—and Jim and Carolyn first planned to sell their grapes to other vintners, as Robert Mondavi had purchased fruit from the site’s previous owners for years. But they soon decided to make their own wine, bottling their first vintage in 1991. In 1992, they made the extremely wise decision to hire Bob Foley as winemaker. 

Within a few years, Pride was racking up 98- and 99-point scores from Robert Parker, who said “these wines catapult Pride Mountain into the top echelon of California's quality wineries.” Now Pride—which has come to stand for Napa Valley mountain Cabernet in all its dark, intense, and age-worthy glory—has become a regular on magazine covers and Top 100 lists.

That’s why we’re thrilled to have the 2017 Cabernet, which is evidence that winemaker Sally Johnson is keeping Pride at the top. It’s a gorgeous taste of one of Napa Valley’s legendary terroirs, and the latest edition of a Cabernet that Wine Access members have been clamoring for for years. So whether this is a longtime wish come true or you’re new to Pride’s unique brand of mountain Cabernet, I know you’ll enjoy this wine as much as I do.