Napa Valley is America’s premier wine region. With its prestigious estates and high bottle prices, it’s easy to think that Napa’s always been the esteemed beacon of Cabernet Sauvignon that it is today. But the region is still relatively new in the wine world, and its success can be traced through a series of game-changing producers.
Napa Valley’s history reaches back to the 1800s, with a few notable pioneering winemakers, but it wasn’t until the momentous Judgement of Paris in 1976 that the region really broke out on a global scale. Then, through the ‘80s and ‘90s, a number of wines received such intense acclaim (i.e., 100-point scores from Robert Parker) that the bottles reached cult status and now are some of the most coveted and expensive wines in the country and beyond. Even after the turn of the millennium, there are still producers breaking out and reaching these sky-high levels of fame.
While this list doesn’t include every important Napa winery, it features many of the region’s most famed and sought-after bottles. Read on to discover the Napa Cabs that made it the region it is today, in chronological order of their release.
Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard: 1966
Heitz Cellar was founded by pioneering winemaker Joe Heitz in 1961, and remained family-owned until it was sold to Lawrence Wine Estates in 2018. Though the winery’s flagship Napa Cab is well known, the winery really gained attention for its “Martha’s Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the first single-vineyard wines of the era, known for its herbaceous aroma and rich palate. Released in 1966, this particular bottling was one of the first coveted bottles in Napa’s early history.
Mayacamas Vineyards: 1971
The Mayacamas Estate, hidden in the heights of the Mayacamas Mountain range, dates back to 1889. But the winery’s modern history as it exists today started when Robert Travers, who previously worked at Heitz Cellar, purchased the Mayacamas Estate in 1968. Like many wineries at the time, Mayacamas rose to fame when its 1971 Cabernet Sauvignon was included in the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting, representing the best of what Napa Cab had to offer.
Robert Mondavi Winery: 1971
Arguably the most iconic name in Napa Cab, Robert Mondavi was an essential player in establishing the region. His passion for wine that helped birth Napa Valley can be traced back to his Italian ancestry, as his parents, Cesare and Rosa, immigrated from Northern Italy, bringing along a love of winemaking. The couple purchased Napa’s Charles Krug Winery in 1943, and sons Robert and Peter worked together there until the 1960s. A feud over the business led Robert to go out on his own and open Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville in 1966. He released his first vintage of Cab in 1971. Mondavi’s commitment to the region made him one of the most respected and revered personalities in Napa Valley. In 2004, the Robert Mondavi Corporation was acquired by Constellation Brands, so the wines are now widely accessible and affordable across the country (unlike many wines on this list).
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars: 1973
The wine industry often traces Napa Valley’s rise to its victory in the 1976 Judgement of Paris. And which wine led the way? It was the 1973 S.L.V. Stag’s Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that took home the top prize, forever leaving its mark on the region. The winery was still young at this point; it was founded in 1970 and its first vintage was 1972. In 2013, the Smithsonian Institution named the winning Cabernet as one of the “Objects that Made America,” and one of the final remaining bottles is housed in the institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
Chateau Montelena: 1974
It’s clear from this estate’s grand facade that it’s a piece of Napa Valley history. While the property itself dates back to 1882, it wasn’t until 1972 that Jim Barrett bought Chateau Montelena and revamped it that it became a major player on the scene. The winery released its first Cabernet Sauvignon in 1974, and it remains one of the most acclaimed estates in Napa — though it’s primarily known for its Chardonnay, which took home the top prize in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Caymus Vineyards Special Selection: 1975
Caymus is somewhat controversial in the wine industry today, beloved by drinkers but often criticized by sommeliers, but it wasn’t always that way. When the Wagner family started Caymus Vineyards in 1972, it produced only 240 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon. And in its early days, Caymus had several all-star winemakers on board, including Randy Dunn, who later went on to start his own cult-level brand, Dunn Vineyards. Dunn helped Caymus release its flagship Special Selection bottling in 1975, which set the stage for its success through the ’80s and ’90. While Caymus is available in just about every wine shop and grocery store now, those older vintages are still sought after.
Dunn Vineyards: 1979
After working as head winemaker of the iconic Caymus brand, Randy Dunn purchased a 14-acre parcel of land in 1978 with his wife, Lori, and planted 5 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery’s inaugural vintage was in 1979 and was an immediate hit. Dunn played a major role in getting the distinct Howell Mountain area of Napa Valley officially recognized as an AVA in 1983, and the wines are still lauded as one of the best expressions of this region.
Opus One: 1979
By the ‘70s, Robert Mondavi was already an established name in Napa Valley. Mondavi capitalized on this fame and partnered with another big name in wine, Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux, to establish the luxury Opus One estate. With the pedigree of both Mondavi and Rothschild behind the wine, it was an immediate success.
Dominus Estate: 1983
Christian Moueix first discovered the Napanook vineyard in 1981, a historic site where George Yount planted Napa Valley’s very first vines in 1838. Because of this heritage, the winery is committed to its farming practices preserving the land, dry-farming the vines, and working organically. Its inaugural vintage was released in 1983, and the wines have been sought after ever since for their association with this land.
Dalla Valle Vineyards: 1986
Dalla Valle Vineyards was founded by Naoko and Gustav Dalla Valle in 1986, and is still recognized as one of Napa Valley’s preeminent family-run wineries (Gustav passed away in 1995). The estate is located on the eastern hillsides of Oakville, and is celebrated for crafting wines with a sense of place that showcase specific vineyard blocks. The Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon was the first wine created from the estate in 1986.
Corison Winery: 1987
Cathy Corison started the Corison Winery in 1987 as a small family farm producing terroir-driven expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are lauded for their elegance, savory complexities, and age-worthy power. While Corison Cab is by no means “cult,” it represents the smaller, family-owned Napa winery.
Screaming Eagle: 1992
If there’s one brand that most defines the era of cult wines in Napa, it’s Screaming Eagle. Jean Phillips purchased the site in 1986, planting it to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, but didn’t make the first vintage of Screaming Eagle until 1992. At that time she collaborated with Napa winemaker Heidi Peterson Barrett and Gustav Dalla Valle to make her first commercial wine from her favorite vineyard blocks, selling the remaining fruit to other Napa wineries. It received a 99-point score from Robert Parker, but multiple 100-point scores on subsequent vintages led to mass hysteria around each release. Even if you want to spend thousands of dollars on a bottle, you’ll have to join the long waitlist just for the opportunity. According to a rare, 2012 interview from the very secretive company, winemaker Nick Gislason suggested the time it takes to make the mailing list after signing up is around 12 years.
Harlan Estate: 1996
Inspired by Robert Mondavi and the wines of Bordeaux, H. William Harlan founded Harlan Estate in Napa’s Oakville region in 1984, but it wasn’t until 1996 that the wine was first released. The Cabernet Sauvignon-based blends also include Bordeaux grapes like Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot that added increased complexity to the wine. The wines were released to much acclaim, and the Harlan Estate bottles are now considered one of Napa’s most sought-after cult wines.
Ghost Horse Vineyards: 2000
Ghost Horse produces several of the most expensive wines from Napa Valley, with some wines going for over $6,000 a bottle. The winery was founded by Todd Anderson in the late ‘90s and released its first wine in 2000. However it wasn’t until December of 2009, when Ghost Horse set up a blind tasting of the wines against other cult Cabs, that these wines catapulted into the spotlight.
Hundred Acre Wines: 2000
Another winery with a long wait list, Hundred Acre is a cult Cab brand started in 2000 by owner and winemaker Jayson Woodbridge, a former investment banker from Canada. Woodbridge is known for his particular viticultural practices and small-batch winemaking that leads to the extremely high-quality wines that Cab lovers line up for. Similar to many of the Napa wines that reached cult status at this time, the wines were very popular with critics, earning over 60 100-point scores since 2000.
Schrader Cellars: 2001
Schrader Cellars was founded in 1998 by Fred Schrader, who set out to craft Cabernet Sauvignon, focusing on featuring the best growing sites from Napa Valley. Thomas Rivers Brown joined Schrader Cellars as winemaker in 2000 and the pair started with a small selection of vine rows from the historic Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, with their first release in 2001. The Schrader Cabs are among the highly scored Napa wines of this time, gaining much acclaim for their many 100-point reviews.
Scarecrow: 2003
Scarecrow is undoubtedly one of the most collectable wines from Napa Valley, partially due to its rich backstory that’s connected to a part of Hollywood history. Joseph Judson Cohn, an executive at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios who oversaw production of “The Wizard of Oz,” acquired land in the Rutherford AVA of Napa Valley in 1943. In 1945, his neighbor, Inglenook’s then owner, John Daniel, encouraged Cohn to plant 80 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon vines. For years the grapes were sold to other big-name wineries like Inglenook and Opus One, until Cohn passed away in 1996 at the age of 100. Cohn’s grandson, Bret Lopez, took over the estate, deciding to bottle wines from the legendary property under a new label, named Scarecrow as a tribute to Cohn’s involvement in the film. The first vintage was released in 2003, and the wines still sell for wildly high prices due to their quality and history.
MacDonald Vineyards: 2010
Far before these coveted wines hit the market, the MacDonald family was well known among Napa Valley winemakers as some of the best grape growers in the region. In 1954, the MacDonalds planted the first vines on the historic To Kalon Vineyard since Prohibition and for 60 years, the grapes were sold exclusively to Robert Mondavi. In 2004, brothers Alex and Graeme MacDonald started working on their own wine, and in 2010 they released their first vintage with just 92 cases. They now keep the fruit from the oldest vines for their Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon.
*Image retrieved from haveseen via stock.adobe.com
