Perfectly Aged $150 Napa Cab at a Must-See Price

2014 Castellucci Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon (Previously $150) $39.95

The Castellucci family farms 50 acres of pristine vineyards across Napa Valley, and their boutique wines are stunning. Made by winemaker Jac Cole, who's crafted standout Cabs at well-known estates like Spring Mountain Vineyards, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, and S. Anderson, this is a classic Rutherford Cabernet that is singing now after extra time in the cellar.

Ryan Woodhouse | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: August 29, 2024

Alright, how about some perfectly aged, 10-year-old, single vineyard, estate grown Rutherford Cabernet to launch us into the Labor Day holiday weekend! The library wine collection that we just purchased from Castellucci is one of the biggest opportunities I've seen in years. This small, family run winery has two distinct estate vineyards, one high up on Spring Mountain, and one in the heart of Rutherford. These vines grow close to the Napa River in classic, deep gravelly soils, full of that prime "Rutherford dust" that imparts such a distinctive flavor into the wines.

I think 2014 is also a total sleeper of a vintage. After the huge hype that surrounded the 2013 vintage, with Robert Parker declaring it the best vintage of his career, often the thing folks remember most about 2014 was the terrible earthquake that struck Napa that August. But as for the growing season, it was largely drama-free. Spring temperatures were quite warm setting up a relatively early harvest, but as the growing season progressed things moderated, and the Fall was free from any damaging heat spikes. The wines aren't big and tannic like the 2013s. They're not as severely affected by drought as the miniscule yields of 2015s. I would characterize the 2014s as very "classic" in style and structure, beautifully proportioned wines, with balance and easygoing structure.

From the mini-vertical of wines we purchased from Castellucci (2012-2015) I often found myself preferring the 2014s over the 2013s despite the latter receiving significantly more hype in the history books. I find the 2014 Rutherford Cab to be at the perfect intersection of primary youthfulness, still with tons of fruit, and a bold, rich, mouth filling texture, whilst it's 10 years of age are just starting to show with some complex development of more secondary aromas and flavors. Red and black currants mingle with pipe tobacco, leather, woodsy spices, briar patch and dusty gravel. Full-bodied, powerful, classic Napa, but with refined tannins and an elegance that time has bestowed. Clearly another 5-10 years of aging potential depending on your preference for more fruit versus slowly increasing bottle development characters. What a treat to be able to grab this wine right as it hits its prime drinking window and for a price that is that simply sensational. Insiders should make sure they're logged in to their account to see the monster discount we have on this wine. But move fast if it appeals to you, we took every case they offered us and there's no going back for more once sold out.

Alexandre Tweedie | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: August 28, 2024

Its not often that you run into pristinely aged, gorgeously mature Napa Cabernet like the wines weve recently acquired from Castellucci Winery - presented to us as a vertical of 2012 through 2015 vintage, with two unique bottlings of Spring Mountain and Rutherford designated AVAs - the fifth wine in this vertical is the Castellucci 2014 Rutherford Cabernet. As with the 2014 Spring Mountain bottling, I have a feeling that the 2014 Rutherford is a marking point for a style shift at the winery, moving towards a riper and richer Napa Style. The14 Rutherford is extravagantly fruited with classic markings of cassis, supple black berry compote, and creamy bakery sweets, with beautiful balancing notes of grill-char, smoker wood, and powdered graphite. The nose has an intense and lifted herbal dash of oregano, before diving head first into the exceptionally fresh black fruit on display. While the 14 Rutherford does feel bigger in nature than its previous vintage siblings, there is a depth of minerality and structure to this wine, as such the deep fruit never feels over-extracted or needlessly heavy - boisterous, big, balanced - burly, yet clad in suede!