2018 Jeremy Nickel Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Take a look at Vinous’s map of the western Oakville foothills, and you’ll see some of the most famous and sought-after names in Napa Valley Cabernet: Futo, Harlan, BOND, Promontory, Martha’s Vineyard…the list goes on.

Among them, you’ll see a sliver of an estate with an unassuming moniker: The Vineyard House. This property belongs to Jeremy Nickel, who inherited it from his late father Gil Nickel—of Nickel & Nickel, Far Niente, and Dolce fame.

Jeremy bottles prime micro-production Cabernet Sauvignon under The Vineyard House label. But that’s not the only place the Cabernet from this outstanding parcel—one of the greatest sites for Cabernet Sauvignon on planet Earth—is destined.

In 2018, which will go down in history as one of the finest Napa Valley vintages of the early 21st century, Jeremy directed fruit from blocks 5, 6, and 7 of The Vineyard House into the Jeremy Nickel Cellars Cabernet. This is fruit that any winemaker in Napa Valley would kill for—and it’s all right here in today’s bottle. 

Aged for two years in 50% new and 50% used French oak, lifted by a bit of fruit from the cool Coombsville AVA, this wine is drinking perfectly after four-plus years in the bottle. Look around online, you’ll see this library beauty going for up to $110 per bottle, with an average hovering around $100. We’re lucky to have it at this price, and anyone who gets a bottle should count themselves lucky too.