Terra Valentine Cabernet Sauvignon Fountain Grove Sonoma County 2018

You wolfed down the Terra Valentine Cabernet we offered you back in October, so we brought in the next vintage. There was only a small amount to be had, and we finagled 63% off the winery price – go get it now! Shipping included on THREE or more.

Terra Valentine’s been a respected hidden gem in the Napa Cab world since about 2000, expertly mining the imperious prettiness of Spring Mountain – but honestly, it’s their bottlings from the friskier side of the Mayacamas Mountains, in Sonoma, that have our hearts. Made by longtime winemaker (and now owner) Sam Baxter, this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from the Fountaingrove District. The AVA took its name from the utopian community and winery that flourished there in the late 1800s. One has to assume the wines back then were not quite as good as this 2018 is, but they were onto something with the elevation, volcanic red soils, and cool nights.

The winery’s release price of $95 is entirely appropriate for this level of seamless, inky, prowling, ultra-fresh Cab. It rolls like a mint-condition Jaguar XJ6. But this is Invino, so when you order two or more, we’re dropping the price to $34.95. That color! Opaque midnight-purple in the glass with a brick-red rim, fabulously serious-looking. But on the palate the vibe is swinging. Juicy black currant, cedar, and coffee come first, followed by violets, wet slate, and cozy, thick red tomato sauce. This is smooth, with just enough tension to keep you alert. Dusty dried-oregano tannins appear at the end and keep building through a long, savory finish. Eighteen months in French oak, 66% new, will deeply please the Goldilockses among us. This tastes like three times our price.