You’re gonna love this one. We certainly did. What’s there not to love? A sub-$30 HALF OFF Napa Cab deal is loveable just as is… but wait! This is a swan song, impossible to replicate. Created as a collaboration between the late Denis Malbec and Mario Sculatti of ROAM Cellars and Rutherford Wine Vault, today’s wine will transform you back to the mythical 1973 vintage. More on that story later, onto the gorgeous wine we have before us…

An alluring shade of mahogany surrounds the vivid heart of a rich and deep cerise red. Generous with ripe fig, boysenberry and blueberry compote entwined with smokiness define the aromatics and the bouquet. Layered fruitcake is backed by ample, ganache-like tannins, while accents of black tea roam – pun intended – on the palate. Bay leaf and tobacco provide savory accents to the grounded finale echoing on and on. What a stunning finish that is. This silky Cabernet Sauvignon is on the elegant side, so enjoy with lamb, duck, mushrooms, pasta as some ideas to put together a candlelit dinner celebrating life.

Mario Roam Sculatti, one of Denis Malbec’s closest friends, is a 4th generation Napa resident since 1901. His father Ron helped create the Judgement of Paris winning 1973 Chateau Montelena in the same cellar as Mike Grgich, Bo Barrett and his son’s namesake Roam Steineke. On that fateful day, Denis and Mario were having one of their blind old and rare tasting dinners, when they both unveiled identical bottles of 1973 BV Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, another historic wine that stood the test of time and thereafter symbolized their camaraderie. In the very same way perhaps, as Kanamota pays tribute to timeless Mount Saint Helena towering over Napa Valley.

In memoriam, Antonio Galloni of Vinous wrote; “Denis Malbec was literally born at Château Latour, where his father and grandfather had held winemaker positions going back to the 1920s. Malbec took over the winemaking reigns in 1994, but the allure of California ultimately proved impossible to resist… Malbec achieved his greatest successes with the wines he made for Blankiet and the Kapcsándy family. Denis made my two favorite Merlot-based wines in the Napa Valley, which means two of the very best from anywhere off the Pomerol plateau, Stephen Tanzer told me. He had a cool ‘been there, done that’ demeanor that governed all of his decisions. There was no stress and no tension, just concentration and a sense of purpose. Napa Valley is an extremely competitive place that can, at times, bring out quite a bit of fire and ego. Denis Malbec had none of that.”