2019 The Ringer Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Think of some of the greatest Napa Cabernets of the 2010s—a decade of monumental releases from Screaming Eagle, Lail, Chappellet, and the like. Take away the marketing, the scores, the labels, and the three-digit prices, and you’re left with first-class Napa juice in a bottle—an unadorned expression of world-class terroir.

That’s what you’re getting with the 2019 Ringer Cabernet: the mountain splendor, laser-focused intensity, and site transparency of a $250-quality Napa Cab. The only part that’s missing is the price tag. 

It’s a dead ringer (hence the name) for the class of cult Napa Cabs that collectors dream of adding to their cellars. With its silky texture and broad, magnificent canvas of a palate—richly detailed with black fruit, mint, and chocolate—it’s like drinking liquid velvet.

Our deal on The Ringer was triggered by a call from a fourth-generation winemaker whose ancestors were among the original pioneers to uncover the greatness of Howell Mountain. A few years ago, he and his son started a new, luxury-level label dedicated to Cabernet grapes grown on a single seven-acre mountainside vineyard. The southeast exposure catches the light like a stained glass window. Total production is less than 300 cases, and mostly allocated to a cadre of Napa power players.

The vineyard’s longer hang-times mean more warmth for the grapes, resulting in the kind of hyper-powered opulence that collectors are willing to pay extravagant prices for. It’s a pure distillation of Howell Mountain concentration.

“We had a little left over,” he told us. “But I heard you guys are good at moving that sort of thing.”

When it comes to the Ringer releases, few bottles move faster.