2018 Cervantes Blacktail Proprietary Red Blend MMXVIII Napa Valley 750 ml

We’re thrilled to have locked in a TINY allocation of one of the new blockbuster must-haves from Napa Valley. 

From vintners Javier and Jero Cervantes, multi-100-point winemaker Andy Erickson (of Screaming Eagle, Arietta, and Staglin, among others), and a rugged vineyard that The Wine Advocate called “a game changer for the region,” Cervantes Blacktail has joined the echelon of Napa’s most esteemed reds, just three years into its existence! 

The Wine Advocate named Blacktail among their Top 100 Wine Discoveries of 2020, and the 2018, from one of the great Napa vintages this century, scored an incredible 98 points from the publication, a mark that puts it alongside the absolute elite of Napa Valley—including Diamond Creek and Cardinale—and above Schrader, Lokoya, and many more. 

The 1100-acre Cervantes ranch is in Pope Valley, on the east side of Howell Mountain. Although Forbes heralded Pope Valley as Napa’s “last undiscovered gem,”  it’s hardly new to winemaking. Grapes have been grown there since the 19th century, and if Blacktail is any indication, it’s an area that can produce powerful and complex red wines that contend with the region’s giants. 

Erickson never has the blend in mind when he sets out to make this wine—he just goes with his gut and what the terroir gives him. Harvested from estate vineyards, the Blacktail is composed of roughly equal parts of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Petite Sirah, with an additional 4% of Petit Verdot. Dense, aromatic, seductive, and elegant, it’s an unconventional blend that ranks with the Cabernet Sauvignon–heavy wines that dominate Napa’s collector scene. 

This is your chance to get in on a rare Napa discovery before this bottling becomes impossible to get.