96 Points
WHY WE CHOSE THIS WINE
Ryan Waugh's path into winemaking began with a single bottle — a 1976 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon that changed the direction of his life. He spent years in Napa cellars before founding Waugh Cellars in 2000, and he and his wife Crystal later established The Caves at Soda Canyon, a boutique underground operation shared with four other small family producers. This is winemaking at its most personal. The 2019 vintage is as close to perfect as Napa gets — an early wet winter, dry spring, and long warm summer with fog-shrouded mornings allowed for slow, phenolic maturity and fruit of uncommon precision. The blend — 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec — spent 18 months in a combination of French and American oak, a cellar approach built around patience rather than intervention. Production is kept deliberately small, and this wine circulates almost entirely through the winery's direct channel. At $125, it competes confidently with bottles at two to three times the price.
TASTING NOTES
Classic and well-structured, with soft, approachable aromas of black plum and a whisper of fennel on the nose. Layers of dark cherry and cassis are underscored by hints of black licorice and a gravelly earthiness. The oak is fully integrated — contributing sweet aromatics, resin, and torn mint rather than imposing itself on the finish. Refined tannins and a long, persistent close. Drink now through 2032, and likely well beyond.