2023 Coho Headwaters Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley 750 ml

Coho winery is one of the all-time favorites at Wine Access. And no bottle has earned more consistent raves than their plush, elegant Headwaters.

Members have called Headwaters “one of our all-time favorites,” and it’s been showered with four- and five-star ratings over its run as perhaps the go-to rich Napa bottling under $50. The last vintage boasts a staggering 4.3-star score, standing with Napa reds that cost twice as much.

This new edition hails from a vintage that we’re already marking as a Napa great. Marked by low yields and tiny, intensely flavored berries, it produced rich, powerful wines like this one.

Founded by 30-year wine-industry veteran Gary Lipp—an alum of Paul Hobbs, Chalone, Robert Mondavi, and Chappellet—Coho transmits Napa Valley terroir in wines renowned for their power and balance. Starting in 2014, Phil Corallo-Titus of Chappellet sat at Coho’s winemaking helm, stewarding blends like Headwaters to robust, fruit-laden fame. 

After the 2018 vintage, the seasoned Lipp decided to move to the exits, but his longtime right-hand man Pierre Limeux knew that the Coho brand was too good to let go. So with Lipp’s blessing, he sought a winemaker who could fill Titus’s cavernous shoes—and he went straight to the top.

Enter Keith Emerson, the Philippe Melka–trained ace who has racked up huge scores with Vineyard 29. For the 2023, Emerson sourced gorgeous Cabernet, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc from prime sites in St. Helena, Rutherford, Oak Knoll, and Moon Mountain. He crushed 100% optically sorted whole berries, vinifying the blend after a three-day cold soak, then giving the wine a luxurious 18-month rest in a luxurious 40% new, tight-grained French oak.