2019 The Wonderland Project Cabernet Sauvignon Nº 9 Special Selection Atlas Peak Napa 750 ml

A handful of words come to mind immediately when encapsulating the 2019 The Wonderland Project Nº 9 Special Selection. Muscular. Chiseled. Broad-shouldered. Concentrated. Bold.

But perhaps the two words you most need to know are: exceptionally scarce.

This is the definition of a Napa insider wine: a tiny-production Cabernet that you'll rarely see at retail. The French Laundry picked up an allocation, and you’ll pay well into triple digits for it there, plus another $300 for dinner.

This Cabernet is sourced entirely from a single vineyard that sits above 1,600 feet of elevation on the jagged, southeast-facing slope of Atlas Peak. Advantageous mountain exposure bathes vines in morning sunlight and cloaks them in shade in the afternoon, creating a perfect balance between ripeness and acidity. The resulting wine is beautifully concentrated, and shows spice-infused aromas of wild violets, resinous herbs, and lightly roasted coffee beans. 

When founder Matt Ahern left his day job as a broker of exotic and rare wines to start The Wonderland Project, we knew we had a new label to keep our eye on. As one of the best-connected guys in the Los Angeles sommelier scene, he was able to tap into closely guarded blue-chip California vineyards—and then win a place for The Wonderland Project on wine lists at top-tier restaurants. His White Queen Chardonnay ended up at spots like San Francisco’s MICHELIN-starred State Bird Provisions and Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Beverly Hills. He also used his connections to score some flawless 2019 grapes from this top-notch Atlas Peak site, and parlayed them into a Cabernet of incredible quality.