100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Food pairings: Braised short ribs with a red wine reduction, grilled ribeye, wild mushroom risotto with truffle, aged Gouda or clothbound cheddar.

Scores:

• 96 points, Decanter
• 96 points, Wine Advocate
• 95 points, James Suckling
• 95 points, Jeb Dunnuck

Winemaking: A single-vineyard, single-varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2023 was aged for 21 months in French oak, 55% new. Winemaker Joe Harden credits the wine's heightened sense of place to extensive work in the vineyard, from careful canopy management to targeted replanting. The cool, late 2023 vintage gave the fresher, structured style that marks this wine.

Vineyards and terroir: The John C. Sullenger Vineyard is Nickel & Nickel's estate vineyard in Oakville, surrounding the winery and tasting barn and extending east toward the Napa River and south to the Opus One property line, just south of To Kalon on the western side of Oakville. The vineyard is named for John C. Sullenger, who bought the land in 1865 and built the farmstead that is now the winery's home.

Family and history: Nickel & Nickel was founded in 1997 by the partners of Far Niente, including co-founder Gil Nickel, to make 100% varietal, single-vineyard wines that express the distinct personality of individual sites across Napa Valley's nested appellations, a departure from Far Niente's blended house style. The winery sits on the historic John C. Sullenger farmstead in Oakville, whose late-19th-century house and barns were restored and reimagined by the Nickels and their partners, with a state-of-the-art winery inside. Each year the winemakers select up to 20 vineyards worthy of a Nickel & Nickel single-vineyard designation.

In the pictures: The vintage truck loaded with barrels at the Nickel & Nickel entrance gate in Oakville, and the red barn above the reflecting pool at the winery (photos: Carol M. Highsmith, 2012, public domain, Library of Congress).