“So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness.” – Sidney Poitier

Nothing random about a $29 Veeder Cab selling out that fast!

But with infinite foresight, we came prepared today. One of our longest standing relationships, Random Ridge is a favorite among all of us.

And THIS is a VERY special one. A TRUE RESERVE made only thrice in Random Ridge history to showcase extraordinary vintages and fruit that SCREAMS I’m different!

The normal Random Ridge Cab is unmatched in its quality and depth. Unmatched except for the RESERVE that it. This bottling includes only the very best “barrel select” lots from the vintage, and it’s a DOOZY.

We aren’t sure how Bill Hawley does it. Maybe it’s his carefree, “live and let live” vibe. Posing nude with a surfboard in a snowcapped vineyard at 2,400 feet elevation seems to illustrate that well.

Random Ridge is a true insiders-only, old school winery on the backside of Mount Veeder. It sits with some of the highest elevated vineyards in all of Napa Valley. Bill snagged this beautiful Mayacamas property in 1979 and set to work with a Walden-esque vision. He built a house out of recycled lumber for his family and planted 9.5 acres in the rugged volcanic soil. And has been steadily cranking out killer wines for almost thirty years.

Mind you, this comes from an appellation where $150-500+ has become a normal sight. Consider the likes of Mayacamas, Promontory, or Lokoya. Mount Veeder is home to some of the finest Cab grown anywhere in Napa Valley. This Reserve demands $100 at the winery and isn’t available elsewhere. That already is a great deal but with OVER 65% OFF though, it’s a no-brainer, Locker Stocker of the highest order.

Bill Hawley describes these beasts as “spicy, extracted and rich wines with alti-dude.” Only a few barrels are made and most of that goes straight to their club members, visitors, restaurants, or small bottle shops. Swelling with a HUGE core of blackberry jam, dark brown sugar, bittersweet chocolate, and violets all wrapped in a robe of toasty oak. It leans into that ultra-rich, “get-barreled”, lavishly ripe, no-holds-barred type of Cabernet.

With so little wine to go around, Bill sees no reason to send samples to the wine press anymore. A past tasting note from Robert Parker raves about “excellent winemaking… copious quantities of sweet, jammy black fruits intermixed with smoke, earth, and spice… a dense, spicy wine with considerable potential, its forward charms are difficult to resist. Drink it over the next decade, but don’t be surprised to see it develop more complexity.” All that is true with this vintage!

Thanks, Bob! We got our cases locked down. The rest are all yours, Operatives! As long as you move fast enough!