2022 Cobden Wini Cabernet Sauvignon Old Federal Vineyard Oakville Napa Valley 750 ml

To Kalon is the most legendary vineyard in Napa Valley. Situated in Oakville at the intersection of Highway 29 and Oakville Crossroad, it produces some of the most precious Cabernets made in the world: Opus One, Schrader, Carter Cellars, and many more blue-chip wineries rely heavily on To Kalon fruit.

So does UC Davis. The “Harvard of Winemaking” meticulously farms a 20-acre block in the western portion of To Kalon’s “1881” section. Known as the Old Federal Vineyard (it was controlled by the USDA during Prohibition, and today the To Kalon name is the source of quite the trademark dispute), this block is essentially an island in the heart of Mondavi’s portion of To Kalon, which supplies the winery’s iconic To Kalon Cabernet as well as Opus One. 

Half of Napa Valley boasts a UC Davis degree, but you can’t just flash your expired student ID at the gates of Old Federal and go pick grapes. Like many of the top sources, you gotta know someone. You gotta be in the right place at the right time. Oh, and you gotta have a tolerance for the kind of paperwork that a contract with the State of California can entail. 

So Cobden Wini proprietor and winemaker Mark Davis wasn’t boasting, just stating the facts, when he said, “It’s just me and maybe three other guys that get it.” His UC Davis connections have landed him OFV fruit since ‘17, and in the opulent 2022 vintage, he made just 150 cases of Cabernet.

Most easterners moving west were in search of gold. But after landing in Napa Valley in 1865, H.W. Crabb became far more interested in growing grapes. He purchased land outside of Oakville, close to the Napa River, and at first, he grew table grapes. Then, in 1872, he planted a vineyard, built a winery, and named his property “To-Kalon”—Greek for “the highest beauty.”

Now, To Kalon is known as the finest place in the world to grow Cabernet. We’re fortunate that UC Davis is able to steward a portion of the land, and you’re lucky that we got a shot at Mark Davis’s fantastic 2022 Cab from this site.