Mission Codename TRouBle in paradise
Everybody PANEK!
For real, it’s go time. Anyone who saw “Panek” and knows what’s up already vacated this message and is halfway through checking out with as much as they can justify. Pete Maren got the inside scoop via the Facebook group and didn’t even open the email. In and out like Cayo Perico and probably sipping a Bloody Mary already.
In case we buried the lead, this is a Panek Vineyard Cab, normally $150+ and you’re getting it for a price that is untouchable – today only you can pick up 4 bottles for that and have change leftover.
So yea, load up on two or three. Cases. Not bottles.
I mean, PANEK VINEYARD, people! A handful of producers get their hands on fruit from this site, and every producer delivers the real deal.
Compare a few prices: Panek Estate - $170, Pulido-Walker - $225, Rivers-Marie - $250…
Just like the sun and moon rising, there’s not a single Panek Vineyard Cab you can find that won’t blow your socks clean off even the crustiest of feet.
Diamond and Key is more than one of those “celebrity” projects, formed by Klay Thompson and MLB star Nolan Arenado. Let’s be honest, sometimes these things don’t pan out. But others do it right. I’m looking at you D. Wade and Yao Ming and Drew Bledsoe (yay Patriots!).
Add to the list Klay and Nolan because we just drained this sample like he drains threes. They knocked it out of the park with this one. Ok, ok we got the puns out of the way so let’s get down to business.
Panek Vineyard, for those who aren’t yet initiated, is a small property in St. Helena. Jim and Cyndi Panek own it, and they’ve meticulously revived it row by row, parcel by parcel, over the last few decades. Today these grapes are absolutely THRIVING. That’s also in part to Phillipe Melka’s input – he consulted on the clone selection and planting. And of course, Thomas Rivers Brown makes the eponymous Panek Vineyard wines and has brought quite a lot of recognition to the site through Rivers-Marie. Actually, Diamond & Key has strong ties to TRB…
When Klay and Nolan entered the game (we can’t stop…), they reached out to an old friend, Joe Harden. A former pro baller himself, he went on to become not just a winemaker, but a rising star in Napa (Nickel & Nickel named him head winemaker at just 30 years old!). A significant deciding factor for Joe signing on to the Diamond & Key team was his sincere belief that this was not just another celebrity vanity project. As their winemaker, Joe turned to his friend and mentor, TRB, and he agreed to help. He got Diamond & Key coveted access to Panek Vineyard Cabernet for the project… AND… he agreed to farm their block for them… AND he gave them space at his state-of-the-art winemaking facility, Mending Wall. It’s not an exaggeration to call it one of the best boutique production epicenters in Napa Valley – more than suitable for some of the best fruit in the Valley.
Smooth, supple, and perfectly woven together, this shows plenty of $100-200 character which is astonishing at the price we have it. Deep, polished black and red fruit, sweet vanilla, fresh tobacco and toasty walnuts all round and ripe and ready to blow your Cabernet-loving minds.
The only downside? At this price – it’s going to be gone fast! Don’t miss your shot!
What the Winery Says
2020 Panek Vineyard St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon


- Winemaker
- Joe Harden
- Proprietors
- Klay Thompson & Nolan Arenado
- Varietal
- 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Vintage
- 2020
- Alcohol
- 14.5%
- Appellation
- Saint Helena, Napa Valley
- Vineyard
- Panek Vineyard
- Soil Type
- Black loam and crushed gravel
- Aging
- 18 months
- Barrels
- 70% new French oak
About the Winery
Diamond & Key
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