Here’s a name we haven’t seen in a while, but you guys gave HIGH praise when you grabbed some a couple of years ago. The family-owned Judd’s Hill out of Napa, and we were so happy with what we tasted. Happy enough that we didn’t stop at one. Two more (Certified organic single-vineyard Napa Cab and a Cab Franc for you Franc-o-philes) are here in the Store today.

Power and polish, and normally $115 at the winery (library vintages run more like $150.) Yours today for … wait for it… $55. That’s over 50% off.

Vinous defined the 2021 vintage as “aromatic, refined and wonderfully expressive.” James Suckling headlined his report “Apex Vintage from a ‘Redemption’ Year.” Decanter followed with the best: “bewildering wines of authenticity, total intrigue, bordering on the flirtatious.”

With only 3,000 cases made across the whole estate each year, there isn’t much to go around, and this is some of the best of what came our way. Family-run wineries like this are getting harder to find these days. Judd’s Hill is still one of the great last ones.

Founder Art Finkelstein and his brother built Whitehall Lane back in the 70s and grew it to 30,000 cases, a serious number for the late 80s. Then Art did something a lot of us only talk about doing. He walked away from the thing he’d built, because somewhere along the way the daily grind had eaten away the passion he had when he started it. I know I walked away from the back of the house when my passion for food turned into work! Soooo… he went and built something smaller instead. Judd’s Hill, named for his son Judd. Founder’s Art, named for himself, Art the founder, so let’s get really punny and go with the label; each year there is different artwork on it. GET IT? FOUNDER’S ART… (ahahahahah)

Art called winemaking the most complete art form there is, right up there with music and ceramics. He passed away in 2010. Every vintage since has carried his name forward, and this Reserve is the one built specifically in his honor, hand-selected each year from whichever barrels rise to the top of the tasting. Small lot, hands-on, start to finish.

We tasted it as a team. Greenlit across the board. ✅ 💚 In the glass, this one is pretty in a way that sneaks up on you. At first taste, it’s good, but on the second taste it’s DAMN Delicious! While on the bigger side, it’s not over the top! It takes us back to when Cabs were elegant and classy. It’s the perfect balance between power and elegance. Ripe dark black cherry leads it off, then as it unfolds, black plum, a hit of blackcurrant, with light pencil shaving, and boysenberry threading through the back half, each one sneaking into your sensory buds with delight and pleasure. It is full-bodied with a good breadth of weight behind it, but nothing about it reaches for extremes. Tannins are smooth and dialed in from start to finish, and it lands clean and classic instead of chasing massive, extracted power.

$60 OFF from a perpetual family winery. At this price, you’re drinking (and paying) like family!