Saddle up, Ops! It’s dawn, and we’re riding once more with an all-time winner Hawk and Horse.

I know it’s Cinco de Mayo but put down the marg and use both hands to lock in a fresh vintage of the most popular Cabernet EVER in our long history. Move quickly because every time it shows up on the site, y’all run up our bottle counter like Lebron against a high school team.

Especially with a 2023, because per Wine Spectator “the vintage looks to be a stunner, with early returns showing wines with serious aromatic range and delineation.

As usual, just like the over two dozen Hawk and Horse wines we’ve featured since May of 2020, it brings critical acclaim. With 94 POINTS! And as we’re now spoiled to claim, priced to make Napa Cab makers squeamish.

How do they do it?

First, Richard Peterson. Before Heidi Barrett came on board, it was her dad, Dr. Peterson, who led the first Screaming Eagle vintages into cult stardom. That’s not all. He also took André Tchelistcheff’s post at BV while helping develop Atlas Peak Vineyards and while presiding over numerous institutions, including the American Society for Enology & Viticulture, The Wine Institute, Society of Wine Educators, and American Institute for Wine and Food. Oh, he also has an award-winning autobiography, “The Winemaker,” an insider’s historic perspective on generations of American expertise.

The man has forgotten more things about making great wine than most winemakers ever know.

And then, you have the location. The Red Hills AVA - a still lesser-known appellation named for its red volcanic soils. Roughly about 10 miles north of Howell Mountain, some exceedingly high-quality Cabernets and Bordeaux blends are being made without the “Napa tax.” There’s a reason why big guns like Schrader, Derenoncourt, and Beckstoffer have been quietly investing in this region.

It’s succulent and ripe but with an old-school feel. Plush, brambly black and red fruits with plum, cassis, cherry, and blackcurrants, all wrapped in effusive aromatic layers of violets, roasted herbs, and crushed walnuts. It’s still young, with eager tannins that reflect its elevation-born origins. We’ve seen how well these wines age, and no doubt there’s a long road of ever-improving enjoyment ahead.

At $75, it’s a solid deal compared to many similarly awesome examples from Napa. At a touch over $30, it stampedes over anything in its path. Run it up!

94 Points - Tasting Panel “Aside from teeth-grabbing tannins and an inner tension, this elegant red owns up to its aromatic foundation of violets and blackberries. Soy sauce and mocha settle on mid-palate, with graphite adding a persistent, structured mouthfeel.”