2022 Echoes in the Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa Valley 750 ml

You almost get the sense this winery doesn’t want to be found.

The source estate behind today’s NDA-protected wine is not open to the public. Type the name into Google Maps and you get nada. For an address, if you really dig, the best you’ll find is a PO Box.

That’s an impressive level of discretion for an elite Oakville estate that’s hidden in plain sight—just off Silverado Trail, alongside some of the appellation’s most iconic vineyards. A mere 70 to 80 cases come off this tiny vineyard each vintage, allocated to loyal mailing list customers. The only other place you’ll occasionally find it is The French Laundry. Til it sells out.

In the past, given the vineyard’s miniscule size, the winery sold fruit to Napa heavy-hitters like Caymus and Cardinale. Today, we called in a favor with the winemaker and convinced him to sell a small amount to us.

Comprising just a half-acre, the hand-tended rows are dedicated to a single, small-lot Cabernet Sauvignon that’s often impossible to find. The soils are volcanic and rich in iron, and the orientation washes the vines in abundant sunshine.

The winemaker, who joined the estate decades ago, is a friend. Last year, when we helped him get some new projects off the ground, we waved off any offers of remuneration. “Just hook us up with some great juice when you can,” we told him.

Let’s just say he repaid the favor generously—in quality, if not quantity. This is fantastic Oakville Cabernet, ripe and rich and bold, and as you might expect, there is precious little to go around.