2019 The Big Ticket Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 750 ml

The legendary estate where we sourced this Napa Cabernet makes a big-ticket dream come true. The estate’s flagship wine is known for its opulence and stately structure, and it stands on a par with Bordeaux First Growths like Mouton-Rothschild and Latour—it’s to Napa Cabernet what the Empire State Building is to the New York skyline.

When a small amount of wine from this estate came onto the market, we were the first to hear about it. The offer amounted to luxury-box seats at a bleacher price—and it would stand for less than 24 hours.

We needed nothing close to a day to decide. By 2 p.m., we were wrapping up a Zoom meeting with our CEO to get the final sign-off on one of the biggest deals in Wine Access history. 

The price was at the limit of what we usually spend on NDA-protected bottles—but we had to have the wine, and we don’t need to mention the name because its identity is right there in the glass. The nose bursts with juicy blackberry and blueberry richness gilded with vanilla bean and graphite. The magnificently lush and expansive palate displays a core of tart black cherry and crème de cassis supported by toasty notes of clove and licorice. Silken tannins as soft as an art handler’s white gloves glide gracefully across the palate, elegantly wrapping the flavors in a seductive package that entices you to take another sip.

This wine would be right at home in the VIP corner of Eleven Madison Park, on a linen-covered auction table, or at Allen & Co’s Sun Valley retreat for billionaire bigwigs—but we’ve got it for you at a relatively dirt-cheap price.