2020 Dolum Estates Cask #28 Cabernet Sauvignon SLD Napa Valley 750 ml

Stand at the southwest corner of where Yountville Cross meets Silverado Trail, and you’ll be standing at one of the great Cabernet Sauvignon sites in Napa Valley. 

To the east, the famed Stags Leap Palisades loom over Cliff Lede’s Poetry Vineyard, which produces Lede’s $350 100-pointer. To the south is Joseph Phelps’ Barboza Vineyard, which provides a key Stags Leap component to Phelps’s immortal Insignia. 

It’s from a minuscule plot at this very intersection that Dolum Estates sourced most of the fruit from their 2020 Cask #28 Cabernet Sauvignon SLD Napa Valley. Guided to the bottle by a dyed-in-the-wool Napa Valley veteran, this wine packs the powerful, elegant, luxurious punch that typifies the famed Stags Leap District. 

Dolum winemaker Chad Alexander started making wine before he was old enough to drink it. 

He first dragged hoses as a teenager at Hess collection in 1985, and worked there all through college. Eventually this Mount Veeder local worked his way up to become head winemaker at Robert Craig Winery, crafting many critically acclaimed Cabernets. Since 2006, he's been a consulting winemaker in high demand by names like V12, Reilly Family, and Rahn Estate. He’s also the head winemaker for Dolum Estates.

Dolum is known for making exquisite Cabernet by dint of obsessive sourcing: They tap some of the top AVAs and terroir in Napa Valley, often omitting the source from the label, to produce wines that deliver outstanding quality. This bottle, which is sourced chiefly from Stags Leap but also from the high-rent districts of Oakville and Pritchard Hill, is a prime example of what the winery, guided by Alexander’s expert hand, does best.