V. Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County 2021

When you come across a Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that pulled 96, 95, 94, and 93 points from four top critics – made by legendary winemaker Jean Hoefliger – for UNDER $40, the trigger practically pulls itself. Shipping is included on 3 or more bottles… a no-brainer at this price!

Jean Hoefliger is the name behind cult-favorite bottles like The Debate, AXR, and Alpha Omega, and he learned his craft in cellars like Château Lynch-Bages and Newton. This is a guy who has stood inside some of the best wineries on earth and taken notes – so when he decides to make a mountain Cab most people have never heard of, you can trust yourself to lean in.

V. Vineyards perches on the Sonoma County side of Spring Mountain at roughly 1,800 feet in the Mayacamas range, one mile from the Napa County line and rubbing shoulders with legends like Pride Mountain. Gina and Steve Viets weren't chasing wine fame when they bought it – they wanted a quiet getaway spot from San Francisco. Then they discovered the hillside had grown vines back in the 1800s, decided to bring it back to life, planted in 2007, and handed the cellar reins to Jean. High-elevation vines like these ripen slowly and cling to their acidity, which is the ideal recipe for a Cab with real concentration and a meaty backbone.

The 2021 is a single-vineyard Cabernet with 17% Petit Verdot woven in, matured 22 months in 80% new French oak. It pours out inky and dark, with a nose of black currant, dark plum, and blueberry rolling into violets, cocoa, cedar, and a curl of tar. The palate is where the mountain fruit flexes its dense, muscular black fruit stacked in layers, laced with graphite and crushed stone, held up by fine-grained tannins and a bright, mineral-streaked finish that just keeps going. It's built to drink beautifully now and to reward a decade-plus in the cellar. Retail runs around $90, but our price cuts more than half of that off, dropping to under $40 on 2+ bottles and free shipping on 3+. Deals like this don’t last long, so don’t sit on it!

FOOD PAIRINGS: With this much structure and dark fruit, reach for red meat – your favorite cut of steak, reverse-seared with plenty of flaky salt at the finish, and plated with charred broccolini and crispy wedged potatoes.