2018 Barnett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District 750 ml

We'll never forget the first time we visited Barnett’s Spring Mountain estate. We were awed by the terraced rows of vines cascading down the mountainside. The dazzling mountaintop sunlight. The wisps of fog furling and unfurling over a patchwork of vineyards far below—a view that shouted: “This is terroir unlike anywhere else in the valley,” and the bold, complex Cabernet in our glasses that drove the point home. 

Take a drive up the steep, serpentine Spring Mountain Road, and you’ll twist and turn past Napa Valley icons like Lokoya ($399), Philip Togni ($143), and Vineyard 7 & 8 ($172). Here, on the tree-lined slopes, is a tapestry of vineyards whose estate Cabs often carry triple-digit price tags. And at the top sits Barnett. 

Wine Spectator has called them one of the few “reference Cabernets” of Spring Mountain. And Decanter has said they make “some of the finest Cabernets coming out of California.” Considering this estate-grown 2018’s power and balance—carefully tuned by a Ridge alum and aged nearly two years in 70% new French oak—it could easily bear the same price as its neighbors.

When people ask us to define Spring Mountain Cabernet, we often point to Barnett, especially this 2018. We absolutely love this wine’s fruit intensity and depth, its wild power, reigned in by firm tannins. It’s a generous reminder of exactly what first captivated us about Spring Mountain—quite literally a mountaintop experience, and one that we're thrilled to share. 

Winemaker David Tate, who spent five years at Ridge helping craft the legendary Monte Bello, is the perfect person to usher Barnett’s extreme terroir into the bottle. Critics and Wine Access members alike have been awed by his work. Vinous wrote that Barnett’s Cabs “impress for their balance and overall sense of harmony,” while our members have called them “one of the best!”

Napa’s 2018 season gave David everything he needed to craft a classic. Decanter said the vintage “belongs in an echelon with the finest of the past two decades.” In the words of James Suckling, “it’s hard to think of a better vintage for those looking for finesse and refinement.”

Barnett squeezed every last drop of quality out of that remarkable vintage. Their 2018 is taut and muscular, with grippy tannins balanced by a fresh lift of wild cherry, blackberry, and blueberry. The more you sip, the more layered complexity this wine reveals, showing notes of spice, licorice, toast, and wild herbs. And it will continue to evolve over the next decade… if you can wait that long.

On Spring Mountain, where Barnett’s vines sit well above the fog line, 2018’s generous sunshine was even more generous. The terraced rows are planted on slopes up to 35 degrees, where they receive up to three more hours of sunlight than vines on the valley floor. Rooted in rocky, porous soils, these low-yielding vines strain to produce tiny clusters of densely concentrated Cabernet. Tempered by cool mountain breezes, the grapes are treated to long hang times and slow ripening, producing a rich, balanced wine.

It’s a spectacular mountain Cab that we return to again and again. Today, the door’s open to any Cabernet lover with a little room in the cellar, and a desire to taste one of our favorites from Spring Mountain.