2018 Amles Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Reflectionist Napa Valley 750 ml

Winemakers Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky can achieve incredible things with the best Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards in the Napa Valley, so when a dear friend introduced us to a new project from Atelier Melka—made from rock-star Napa Valley sites like Sleeping Lady, Vine Hill Ranch, and Glass Slipper—our expectations were in the stratosphere. 

It only took one sip of the spiced, crème-de-cassis-drenched Cabernet—the 2018 Amlés Wines Reflectionist—to make us realize that they might have been too modest.

When Amlés founders Scott Miller and Sharon Virts started their winery just a few years ago, they went straight to the top, choosing Atelier Melka to make the wine and then selecting grapes from three of the best vineyards in the Valley.

Sleeping Lady is one of the prime Cabernet sites in Yountville, thanks to its perfect exposition and expert farming by the Bettinelli family. Vine Hill Ranch, an extension of that magic Oakville corridor that comprises Harlan Estate and Martha’s Vineyard, not only supplies VHR’s own legendary Cab but also top-flight producers like TOR and Arrow&Branch. Finally, the Glass Slipper vineyard in Coombsville boasts a west-facing gentle slope partially planted to the Jenkins clone, a “suitcase” Cabernet clone said to have come from Château Lafite-Rothschild. 

This trio of sites offers the Bordeaux-born and -bred Melka the materials to create a wine whose grace nods to the glorious past—to “the way wines once were,” as he says. 

We will certainly drink to that! This is one hell of a first wine for Amlés, and one of the most exciting new Cabernets we’ve tasted in a long time. We know you’ll love it as much as we do