2018 Silver Ghost Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Like a midnight-black Rolls-Royce creeping along in the dark, we’re sneaking into your inbox with a long-awaited allocation of one of the surprise smash-hit Cabs of the last two years.

The 2018 Silver Ghost Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley marks the return of a wine whose last vintage absolutely dazzled Wine Access members—they showered it with four- and five-star reviews, repeating one word over and over: That word is VALUE. James Suckling has put his stamp of approval on the 2018 Silver Ghost too, with a 93-point rating—impressive for a wine at this incredible price.

We know that savvy buyers of Napa Valley Cabernet are not looking for the hottest new trend. They’re looking for quality for the money, and that often boils down to pedigree. Ask longtime collectors how they choose a bottle and they’ll tell you it comes down to three things. First, the winemaker. Second, location. Third, an excellent vintage. 

So, if we take today’s 2018 Silver Ghost, let’s go in that order: 

First, the winemaker is Weston Eidson, whose work bears the marks of his mentor, Napa Cabernet kingpin Russell Bevan, who has authored a slew of Parker 100-point wines for his own Bevan Cellars.

Second, Eidson sources fruit from Rutherford, Yountville, and Calistoga, tapping resources from his days working under Bevan, and with Modus Operandi’s Jason Moore. These are blue-chip Napa Valley vineyards providing grapes for triple-digit Cabernets, and Eidson treats the grapes royally, aging the wine in 50% new French oak for 22 months. 

Third, the vintage. 2018 is generally agreed to have been flawless, and as the Cabernets from that season hit the market, the evidence mounts for it being one of the top vintages of what was an exceptional decade.

Now for the story you’ll share with your friends: The name “Silver Ghost” is a reference to the 1909 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, the favorite car of John Montagu, Weston Eidson’s great-grandfather. Montagu was a British Lord and member of Parliament, and an early pioneer in the automobile industry. Montagu even picked the female model who embodies the classic Rolls-Royce hood ornament, the “Spirit of Ecstasy.”

Now, if you think like us at all, you’re imagining the overwhelming ecstasy of taking the $450,000 it would cost to buy one current-edition Rolls-Royce, and spending it all on wine… Oh, mercy, what you could buy. Luckily, you don’t have to have a fortune to avail yourself of this spectacular wine.