You want a $40 Cab that drinks like a good ol’ $80 Napa Cab?

First step, venture outside Napa and head to Alexander Valley.

And did we say $40? We meant $24.

Never heard of Heffernan? Neither had we, but after getting acquainted with this sample a few weeks ago we set our crosshairs on locking it down because the only Cabs like this you can get for our price usually come from a massive producer making tens of thousands of cases at scale.

We aren’t sure how they did it, but we aren’t complaining about finding this tiny family-owned producer making some truly honest wines that overdeliver at their price and flat out astonish at ours.

This beauty comes from Alexander Valley, home to the greats like Jordan and Silver Oak. A recent article on Jancis Robinsons site said, “Sonoma’s Alexander Valley AVA is producing wines every bit as good as Napa’s these days.” And we fully agree!

And for the price you see today, you’d maybe be able to get a sniff from a glass of anything from Jordan or their Napa equivalents.

No huge scores but a few gold medals from local competitions lends an air of credibility - but let’s be honest, we don’t care if it got a Platinum, bronze, or lead trophy. We tasted. We liked. And we know what’s good.

Crafted by industry veteran Scott Petersen whose resume includes Beuna Vista, Kendal Jackson, Conn Creek and Nicolás Catena, this is a true small estate project with small lots and careful crafted wines.

Petersen is known for his decadent style of winemaking and unsurprisingly, this hits all those notes.

At peak drinking time right now, this is deep, dark and simply flowing with dark fruit. Beautifully structured with velvety tannins and a luxurious mouthfeel. Silky smooth array of spice, dark fruit and fresh tobacco notes with healthy amounts of dense classic berry. For Cab lovers, it doesn’t get much better than this.

ESPECIALLY at this price!? Do yourself a favor. This is a “case me” situation if we ever had one.

Gold Medal—Sunset International Wine Competition Gold Medal—Monterey International Wine Competition