Some of our best tips come from our customers. Recently, we had a guy who really knows his Napa Cabernets in. (He was picking up his order of the 100-point and $700 Hundred Acre.) And he asked, “can you get any more of the Croze Cabernet? It was remarkable.” Mind you, not remarkable for the money…just plain remarkable. And he’s right.
The historic (and aptly named) Money Road Vineyard in Oakville is right by Screaming Eagle. But even that’s not the most interesting thing about it. What’s even cooler is that Money Road was one of the core vineyards for Robert Parker’s very first 100-point American wine: the famed 1985 Groth Reserve Cabernet.
From this historic vineyard, along with a bit of amazing fruit from Rutherford and Howell Mountain, North Carolina native Daniel Benton fashions a scant 300 cases of spectacular Cabernet under his tiny Croze label.
The 2014 vintage (the first we offered) earned a 97-point score, and Benton felt his 2017 (long sold out) and 2018 were even finer. But now we have what is clearly his best Cabernet to date, the virtually perfect 2019 vintage.
Master Sommelier Kevin Vogt says:
It's always surprising and refreshing to find a wine that offers exceptional quality and a minimal cost (here he means $70), and the Croze Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon does just that. It begins with an engaging nose that includes cherry cola, brambly red and black berries, baker's chocolate, lilacs, herbs de Provence, and vanilla spice. These aromas beautifully sync with a harmonizing palate, including ripe Bing cherries, black plums, cocoa powder, and dried tobacco. The beautifully integrated acidity perfectly complements the lush, supple mouthfeel, creating a seamless style that leads to a long, enticing finish.
As winemaker Daniel Benton explains:
This site made history as part of the core of Groth’s incredible 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon, the first American wine that garnered a perfect 100-point score from Robert Parker, Jr. Considered a “platinum-rated” vineyard for its highly desirable combination of climate and soil type, Money Road Ranch sits on a deep soil layered with loam and gravel. It’s a highly unique microclimate here, with a 30-degree swing in temperatures between day and night, a record for Oakville. The resulting fruit is well-endowed with plump fruit and mouthwatering acidity.
Benton is a rare Napa winemaker working with material like this who still values balance, elegance, beauty and class above all else. And the 2019 vintage – when he could harvest all the way into October yet still have a reasonable 14.2% alcohol – provided the perfect, exquisitely balanced conditions to realize his vision.
