2023 McKahn Cabernet Sauvignon Morning Glass Napa Valley 750 ml

What more do you need to say about a winemaker than that he was hand-picked by Phil Titus—the winemaker at freaking Chappellet and the epitome of a Wine Access favorite—to run Titus’s family outfit? While Phil will certainly have a big role in the goings on at his namesake winery, as of this week, Chuck is running the show. 

Chuck was born with one foot in the wine biz. After attending Cal Poly SLO, he made the big leap to Napa Valley, and he landed darn near the top: In the Chappellet cellars, alongside Phil Titus. They worked together for five years, and Titus was obviously impressed with what he saw. 

In 2014, Chuck, his dad Kevin, his mom Denise, and wife Brittany (both women are industry vets) founded McKahn Wines. At the time, Chuck was deep in his Chappellet tenure, which obviously made him some vineyard contacts. And by the time he made his 2023 Morning Glass, he had a Rolodex befitting a young winemaker who works at one of the finest outfits in Napa Valley. 

The 2023 vintage was a spectacular one, and Chuck saw an opportunity to score some incredible fruit to make his inaugural Napa Valley Cabernet (he was already making a Mt. Veeder bottling). It just so happened that harvest was looking bountiful at a prime site in the south Napa Valley—one farmed by an awarded vineyard team. Chuck took advantage. 

Morning Glass—aptly named after the calm and pristine early-morning surface of a lake—is 100% Cabernet, fermented for 14 days on the skins, then aged for 18 months in French oak. The result is a stunner of a Cabernet with pedigree to burn, especially at the incredible price we scored.

Go ask any Napa Cab hound what they’d expect to pay for a passion-project Cabernet from a rising-star winemaker with Chappellet and Titus on his résumé. It’s a lot more than this, we can tell you that much.