2023 Castellucci Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Vivace Lira Vineyard Oakville 750 ml

Oakville is the glamorous star at the heart of Napa—the Valley's Savile Row. It's usually gonna cost you at least $200 to get prime Oakville Cab, and names like Harlan, Screaming Eagle, and Opus One push its upper bound into the stratosphere. Thanks to our long relationship with Castellucci Estate, we got their 2023 Vivace Lira Vineyard Cab, grown on a tiny vineyard off Oakville's famed (and aptly named) Money Road, not far from Opus.

2023 marks the first vintage made entirely by Philippe Melka and his Atelier Melka team—one of the most celebrated winemaking outfits in Napa, with a long string of 100-point scores and a client list that runs from Dominus to Dalla Valle to Hundred Acre. Robert Parker once named Melka among the top wine consultants in the world, and here his team has the run of the place, from farming to bottling. You might technically be able to find less-expensive Oakville Cabernet out there, but not for anything near Castellucci's league.

Founded by Italian immigrant and property magnate Antonio Castellucci—a true American success story—the Castellucci family has owned and farmed land in Napa Valley for over two decades. They own 50 acres spread over prime sites in the Spring Mountain, Carneros, Rutherford, and St. Helena AVAs. But the Vivace Lira Vineyard, on Money Road in Oakville, is their crown jewel.

The aptly named Money Road slices through the tenderloin of Napa's prestigious Oakville AVA, and the vineyards on Money Road's east side rub shoulders with the Groth Reserve Block that produced California's first 100-point wine. The area is also home to vineyards held by the likes of Swanson, Saddleback, and Laird.

We're talking ground zero for classic Oakville Cabernet, and the tiny, 6.5-acre Vivace Lira Vineyard is right in the heart of it all. The vineyard is managed by Antonio's son Marco and his team, who give it undivided attention year-round—and this Cab comes from the best portion of the site, Blocks E and F.

The 2023 season was a long, cool, old-school year that growers up and down the Valley have called a vintage for the ages—steady temperatures and patient ripening that let flavors develop fully while the fruit held onto its freshness. Melka's team picked at the perfect moment. The result is a Cab with Oakville's powerful dark-fruit depth and a structure polished into real elegance, built to age gracefully for two more decades.