Mission Codename Peaks and valleys
JUDD’S HILL!
Not one. Or two. Or three. But FOUR epic scores from this historic producer. We’ll be dropping each one throughout the day (schedule below so you can plan accordingly).
At around $95-$115 these sit alongside the very best Napa can offer. You would not be sad when this juice hits your lips. Even if you paid full price, plus tax, shipping, and a flight out to Napa to score some from the winery.
However, for under $40 it feels almost criminal to let them into the wild.
They shame anything in their path at that price. And stand up to most anything in the upper echelon of high-scoring, triple-digit Napa reds.
At this price, you’re drinking like a local. Like a friend of the winery. A family member. Heck, I don’t know if even close friends and family can get a sniff of these wines at our price.
So, here’s how it will go down:
Right now, if you’re reading this before 10am PST, the 35th Anniversary Historical Vineyard Cabernet Blend is up for grabs. After that we have the 2019 Extended Barrel Age Cabernet Sauvignon from 10am until 12pm. Next up, the 2017 Founder’s Art Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from noon until 3pm, and finally we’ll round it out with the 2017 Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon for your late afternoon and evening pursuit.
We’re leading with their 35th Anniversary blend, but you’ll find three more selections in the store today as well. With only 3,000 cases annual production this small family-run estate has little to go around, and we cherry picked some of the most prime lots from the samples that came our way.
Each one is special. The Finkelstein family has been growing grapes on the hillside vineyards of their 14-acre estate on the eastern edge of Napa since the 1970s. Their wines are ingrained in the DNA that makes Napa Valley Cabernet what it is today.
Their first release came in 1989, and this Anniversary blend marks their 35th year of production since that moment. It’s harmonious, big and bullish, but polished and elegant. Immensely complex, rich, and round layers of red and black fruits dominate the core. And lucky for them, 2018 proved to be a near perfect vintage, which shows remarkably well. With the perfect age, this stuff is absolutely singing a pitch-perfect tune.
This sits right up there with some of my favorites recently, and perhaps of all - the Cervantes, Ehlers Estate, and The Sixteen by Twenty Cabs show similar styles. Fleshy, round and ripe, with fully resolved tannins, a finish that goes for a minute or two, and layers up on layers of everlasting gobstopper-like complexity.
And this is just one of four selections that each show similar, yet distinct styles. Like Pokemon, you gotta collect them all! But do it fast because deals like this come with a Charizard-like elusiveness…
What the Winery Says
2018 '35th Anniversary' Historical Vineyard Cabernet Blend


- Winemaker
- Judd Finkelstein, Eric Lyman, Alex Young
- Varietal
- 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot
- Vintage
- 2018
- Alcohol
- 14.9%
- Appellation
- Napa Valley
- Aging
- 18 months
- Barrels
- 30% new French oak
About the Winery
Judd's Hill





