Luscher Ballard Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District Napa Valley 2015

An unbelievable price (under $60!) on a single-vineyard, micro-production, estate-grown Spring Mountain cab made by the legendary John Kongsgaard and his son, Alex, at Kongsgaard’s winery on Atlas Peak.  This 2015 vintage of Lüscher-Ballard’s cabernet sauvignon kicks some serious tail! Nearly 8 years young and absolutely in peak shape right now – especially at over 35% off!

High atop Spring Mountain where the Sonoma and Napa County lines meet, Christina Lüscher-Ballard and Carroll Ballard, with the help of neighbor John and Maggy Kongsgaard planted this beautiful abandoned walnut orchard in 2002. Right between Vineyard 7&8 and Pride Mountain Vineyard, literally at THE top of Spring Mountain, lies this picturesque property — incidentally this is also the source for Aaron Pott’s $150+ Kaliholmanok bottling. 90% of the fruit is sold to top wineries every year, but about 200 cases worth of the best bits are set aside for their own estate wine. A ton of killer pedigree here, and again – this 2015 is really, really stunning right now.

The wine showcases the power of 2015 – the final vintage of a few years’ intense drought that brought excellent concentration to the wines of ‘12, 13’, 14’, and here. The wine is almost black in the glass with a nice ruby garnet towards the rim. Bay leaf, Cuban cigar and cassis jam, dark chocolate, and macerated black cherry explode from the glass. Deep and brooding but with lift and freshness galore, there is subtle sandalwood and mocha spice too. Polished, ripe, and concentrated flavors are offset by a hint of savory/umami and dried flowers that give this serious length and complexity. The tannins are gloriously infused into this wine that is drinking beautifully, still plenty of gas in the tank, however. 

We can never get enough perfectly-cellared cabernet sauvignon like this, and nothing like this incredible PRICE!? We got just 15 cases total from the winery (despite all our begging for more), so when it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Don’t miss!