Affordable, World-Class, 97-99-Point Napa Cabs (Yeah, You Read That Right!)

When starting to write this article I asked Google what I should expect to pay for high-quality, top scoring Napa Cabernet. The answer was $200 to $4000 per bottle! Well, I thought, we can do better than that. So I decided to write a list of what I consider to be some of the best of the best Napa Valley wines—these all deliver exceptional quality, respected pedigree, cellaring potential, and massive critical acclaim. Then I gave myself a budget not to exceed $100 per bottle, and here’s what I came up with.

Farella: Hidden in Plain Sight

The region of Combsville in Napa Valley even describes itself on the official vintners' and growers page as a hidden gem. Despite being just three minutes from downtown Napa, the region is somehow still off the beaten path for most visitors to the valley. Coombsville is one of the more recently established sub-AVAs in Napa Valley, becoming officially recognized in 2011. There is, however, a long history of grape growing in the region going back to the 1880s. To this day the iconic R.W. Moore Vineyard, planted in 1905, is still in production. It was however in the early 1980s that the modern era of Coombsville began and no winery was more instrumental in the founding of this AVA than Farella. Firstly, second generation owner, Tom Farella, wrote and submitted the petition that led to the creation of the AVA. But Farella’s importance goes deeper than simply filing paperwork.

Wine and Friendship for the Ages: Accendo Cellars

Behind every great wine is a great story. Napa’s Accendo Cellars indeed makes great wine, and the story behind it is particularly special to us at K&L. Bart Araujo, former owner of Eisele Vineyards and Araujo Estate Winery, is the man behind the magic at Accendo Cellars. He also happens to be good friends with K&L’s Clyde Beffa, and their story stretches back to the baseball diamond at Serra High. Luckily they both held their own on the ol’ sand lot, though you might hear a bit of friendly rivalry now and again! Since those years, they’ve built some amazing businesses, and a remarkable multi-generational friendship.

A Bordeaux Legend Takes on Napa: Alfred Tesseron's Pym Rae

This week, staff members in all three stores were treated to a special winemaker tasting and training with Alfred Tesseron, the man behind the wonderful Pontet Canet estate in Pauillac, Bordeaux, and from the Tesseron family in Cognac. The occasion for his visit was to introduce us to his brand-new project on the other end of the winemaking world—our end of the winemaking world, in fact—Napa Valley. Tesseron is releasing the very first vintage of his Napa wine called Pym Rae, and it is as exceptional as one might expect from this talented, venerated winemaker.

K&L Wine Merchants

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