2023 Good Decisions Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain Napa Valley 750 ml

Chilled oysters, duck confit, and Champagne were on the menu that night. Major wine critics and blue-chip winemakers were in attendance. But we wanted to talk to the guy who parked his mud-spattered Land Cruiser next to the BMWs and Teslas.

Chalk it up to good luck—or the good decision that gives this wine its name—but we found ourselves hitting it off with one of Howell Mountain’s most renowned growers. Today, the appellation is synonymous with weighty Napa pedigree and three-digit bottles. But back when he got the deed to his property notarized, just a dozen or so wineries dotted the rugged mountain hillsides.

“My only regret,” he confessed with a glass of Cabernet sloshing in his hand, “is that I didn’t buy more land when it was dirt cheap!”

The grapes off his vineyards are so exclusive, we typically don’t have a shot at sourcing them—NDA or not. For years, winemakers have driven up the twists and turns of Howell Mountain Road hoping to land his fruit, which is renowned as exemplifying the appellation: brooding and dark, with roaring power, thick tannins, plus bold notes of mountain herbs, tobacco, and sappy blackberry.

Luckily for us, we’re tight with the elite Napa winery that hosted the event that night—and that ultimately put together this super exclusive 2023 Good Decisions Cabernet, which is sourced in part from this grower’s iconic Howell Mountain site.

They’re one of Napa’s best-connected estates and regularly tap the greatest heritage vineyards on the valley floor. So, unsurprisingly, they’re pretty well-sourced in Howell Mountain too!

The winery typically charges $200+ for pristine single-vineyard Cabernet off mountain slopes like his. Even their standard Napa release goes for $150. 

Shifting economic headwinds and a bountiful harvest in 2023 created a rare window of opportunity for us. The winery reached out to discuss creating a bespoke one-off offering. Our minds instantly went back to the bearded fellow with the Land Cruiser.