We know it’s Sunday and you have the crock pot steaming, ribs smoking, and last-minute tweaks to your fantasy football lineup to dial in. But PLEASE take 30 seconds to lock down some of this beautifully aged single vineyard Napa Cab!

Sure, as the sun will rise in the east, and Daniel Jones will throw a pick 6, Maroon Wines will be there to deliver a killer value in the Napa Cabernet department. This is no different. At $100 from the winery, it’s a stiff, but worthy pick. At $37 from us the choice is FAR easier.

Long-time Operatives know the story well. Paul Maroon snagged 37 acres of prime vineyard land years ago, with one aim - grow kickass Cabernet grapes. And he did that, supplying Joseph Phelps for their Insignia, and other highbrow wineries with the goods they demanded. Then he had an idea. Why not start his own brand? Thus, in 2009 Maroon was born.

Joe Doueihi here, the name behind the source of this (unusual for Coombsville-based Maroon) single vineyard Yountville Cabernet, happens to be Paul Maroon’s cousin and for a couple of vintages they partnered up for this project, each bottling their own labels, a Maroon/Doueihy and a Doueihi/Maroon. Many years ago, we featured the former, thinking that’s all that there was, yet to our pleasant surprise, the latter version surfaced from a secret library with a decade+ age on it. The tiny 10-acre vineyard site is well-situated off State Lane, in close proximity to Kapcsándy and Gemstone.

At this stage, the wine has settled into a perfect ‘middle-age’ with zero signs of an identity crisis. Secure in its fruit still, but showing off tertiary notes of dusty saddle leather, cigar box, and gentle barrel spice. Old-school in profile and making since the beginning, the tannins, oak, and fruit have merged into one harmonious and delectable treat. The review below is from its childhood times back in 2017, so take it with a grain of salt. Drink it up now, or over another decade. At $37 you really can’t go wrong here!

Unless you miss out completely… in that case, consider this fair warning. Like Daniel Jones, this won’t be around much longer…

93 Points – Tastings.com

“Nearly opaque ruby black color. Fruity, earthy aromas and flavors of baked berries, clay, spiced nuts, and olive with a supple, bright, dryish medium body and a silky, complex, long cedar, roasted chestnuts, and earth finish with well-integrated, chewy tannins and moderate oak. A rich, savory claret-styled Cabernet that will shine at the table.”