2022 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa and Sonoma Counties 750 ml

Every time we drink a bottle of Pride Cabernet, we marvel at how they can still offer it for a two-digit price. After all, $100+ prices are common in Napa Valley, and demand for Pride—one of the definitive Cabernets of California—is such that they could sell three or four times as much Cabernet as they do.

It's not just the solitude that makes Pride's site special. Nor is it the view, at 2,100-feet of elevation, which beats just about any other in Northern California. It's the conditions, some of which are special to mountain sites, and some which are unique to this place. The estate is dominated by south-facing vineyards—something uncommon on Spring Mountain—and like the best high-altitude sites, it sits above the fog line. That means daylong sunshine and cool mountain air combine to make for slow, steady, ideal ripening.

When they purchased the property, Pride owners Jim and Carolyn Pride first planned to sell their grapes to other vintners: The site had grown grapes for more than a century, and Robert Mondavi had purchased fruit from the site's previous owners for years. But they soon decided to make their own wine, bottling their first vintage in 1991. In 1992, they made the extremely wise decision to hire Bob Foley as winemaker.

Within a few years, Pride was racking up 98- and 99-point scores from Robert Parker, who said "these wines catapult Pride Mountain into the top echelon of California's quality wineries." Now Pride, which has come to stand for Napa Valley mountain Cabernet in all its intense and ageworthy glory, has become a regular on magazine covers and Top 100 lists.

That's why we're thrilled to have the 2022 Cabernet, which is evidence that winemaker Matt Ward is keeping Pride at the top. It's a gorgeous taste of one of Napa Valley's legendary terroirs—the latest edition of a Cabernet that Wine Access members have been clamoring for. So whether this is a longtime wish come true or you're new to Pride's unique brand of mountain Cabernet, we know you'll enjoy this wine as much as we do.