Nellcote Cabernet Sauvignon Rallye 76 Napa Valley 2016

A serendipitous lunch meeting at Mustards Grill in Yountville began a partnership between Tyler Olbres, a successful designer, and Phillip Corallo-Titus, esteemed winemaker at Chappellet Vineyards for over a quarter century. This is a true hedonistic delight, just beautifully done, in a bottle that weighs about 5 pounds. Napa cab lovers will find an immensely concentrated, seamless, exceptionally crafted wine from some of the finest vineyard sources that money can buy. Andy Beckstoffer (we can't disclose which ones, hint: the good ones) Hirondelle Estate in Stag's Leap, and Broken Rock Ranch on the base of Atlas Peak on the southern border of Stag's Leap. No expenses were spared at any stage of the process and it shows.

The name Nellcote comes from the Chateau where The Rolling Stones recorded “Exile on Main St.” in the Cap Ferret in southern France, just two doors down from where Tyler grew up. The name Rallye 76 is an ode to Tyler's family's rich history of designing luxury cars, primarily for racing at nearby Monaco./p>

Because of the rather sudden closing, many of the great wines from the excellent vintages were never rated (there are some out there on back vintages), but we can promise you will be seriously impressed. Silky, concentrated, lavishly rich and mouthcoating, packed with cocoa bean, espresso, blue fruits for days, clove and cola, blackberry essence, violets and a hint of bay leaf...incredibly long and polished, too.

Serious stuff for a SONG, just...wow. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED, though!!

PAIRING IDEAS: A beautifully-made beef bourguignon would hit the spot here, with some buttery noodles and some crusty bread and cheese!

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: Because of the inspiration for the wine name, you HAVE to bump the "Exile on Main St." album! This really is one of the all-time great albums!