Some mistakes are good food, or so the saying goes. Here, they’re good drink.

Let us explain…

What happens when a winery pivots to a new label design? They quietly call us to move some a few cases of the old design and we happily oblige. Not because it’s a smokin’ good deal, which it is. But because we tasted this alongside some big gun Napa reds, and it threw down in a serious way. Jeb nailed it in his review, “This pure, full-bodied beauty has a gorgeous texture, sweet tannins, and a great finish. It’s a gorgeous bottle of wine.”

Of course, we also scored an incredible deal on this soul warming, 94-point Cab blend - to the tune of 52% off.

Experience is a tiny, family run operation centered around an 8-acre vineyard in Oak Knoll District. Unlike the northern appellations such as Oakville, Oak Knoll District doesn’t get as much hype even though they host some big names like Trefethen, Robert Biale, Whitehall Lane, O’Brien Estate and recently offered Materra. It’s a prime location for Cabernet and that’s all on full display here.

Melding Cab, Merlot, and Malbec into one seamless and concentrated package, it’s round and soft in the mouth, with heaps of raspberry and cassis, warm plum and dark chocolate undertones. The 2016 vintage was near perfect, with a long even growing season and this has all the precision, power and polish you’d expect from a top tier Napa red. Simply put, it drinks well above its release price. Of course, at $29 it has little, if any competition.

This is exactly the kind of wine we look for - a super small production, totally under the radar sleeper that blows away expectations. Just 8 barrels were made and we bargained for every bit we could get our hands on.

But these days, that’s probably not gonna be enough…

94 Points - Jeb Dunnuck

“A dense purple color to go with rocking notes of crème de cassis, crushed violets, spice box, mocha, and subtle chocolatey oak. This pure, full-bodied beauty has a gorgeous texture, sweet tannins, and a great finish. It’s a gorgeous bottle of wine.”