The most rarefied Cabernet Sauvignon blockbusters of the Napa Valley have long been painstakingly parceled out via mailing lists. Many of my fellow sommeliers, including my buddy and “SOMM” castmate DLynn Proctor, have found themselves in the Director’s chair at boutique wineries like Fantesca, where their duties include divvying up their precious cargo among a lucky few.

In all probability, the 1,100 cases of today’s mountain-grown Cabernet powerhouse—one of the latest releases in Fantesca’s “All Great Things” series—would have sold out in due course via Fantesca’s mailing list. But, as I said, DLynn is a friend, so he broke off a (painfully small) chunk of Fantesca’s 2016 “All Great Things: Justice II” to share with the SommSelect faithful. It’s a chance for an additional few to experience the outsized talents of winemaker Heidi Barrett and her longtime associate, Tony Arcudi, working with the most pristine mountain-grown fruit in the Valley. Focused primarily on Cabernet Sauvignon, “Justice II” is the kind of impeccably tailored Napa Valley red that has become a Barrett signature; look at her track record, which includes a multitude of 100-point scores, and it’s clear that Fantesca owners Susan and Duane Hoff did their homework. If the holiday season has left a few holes in your cellar in need of filling, or if you simply can’t resist the rarest trophies on those occasions they come your way, we’ve got up to four bottles of this one for you until our allocation disappears!

Fantesca is an ambitious project, to put it mildly. The stunning, hospitality-focused property is situated high on Spring Mountain (not far from Togni) and spans 53 acres, of which 10 acres are planted to vines. The core estate vineyard has some rich history, having originally been planted in 1860 “...as part of Caroline Bale’s dowry when she married Charles Krug.” It was sold and went dormant sometime between the Phylloxera epidemic of the 1900s and Prohibition, eventually returning to its original, forested state until it was revived and replanted in the late-1990s. Susan and Duane Hoff acquired the property in 2003 and started releasing wines commercially in 2004, with the estate-grown production (about 400 cases of Spring Mountain Cabernet) supplemented by wines sourced from other Napa mountain sites in the Barrett/Arcudi orbit. They source from the Russian River Valley as well. Total production remains deliberately small, about 3,500 cases.

The “All Great Things” collection was launched in 2009, taking its inspiration from Sir Winston Churchill, who said “All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.” Today’s 2016 is the second release of a “Justice” bottling and incorporates fruit from select vineyards on Howell Mountain and Atlas Peak. Arcudi, who, like Barrett, releases wines under his own label in addition to consulting widely around the Valley, is the right hand on the “All Great Things” wines; they are crafted as an expression of the team’s winemaking style, which is focused on marrying power with finesse. That’s a pretty tricky tightrope to walk, but this ’16 demonstrates how it’s done.

This second edition of “Justice” is driven by 86% Howell Mountain/Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged 21 months in 40% new French oak and spent some time aging in bottle before its release, so it is already a very sumptuous, velvety pleasure to drink. But don’t be fooled by those expertly managed tannins and that luscious, dark-fruited extract: This red is likely to button up a bit in the coming years en route to an even-more-opulent, operatic old age. Take a look at the all-star roster of Barrett clients over the years (Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Amuse Bouche, her own La Sirena, the list goes on) and you have a good idea of what to expect—unbridled luxury. In the glass, it’s an opaque ruby-purple with flecks of garnet, with an explosive nose of blackberries, black currant, cassis, violets, tobacco, dark chocolate, espresso, and turned earth. It is full-bodied and deeply concentrated, its viscosity kept in check by the freshness inherent in mountain-grown fruit. Decant it about an hour before serving in large Bordeaux stems at 60 degrees, then save your remaining bottles to track over the next 10+ years. Obviously, you will need to break out the big guns for the accompanying meal, be it beef bourguignon, braised short ribs, or maybe a well-seared tenderloin topped with a wine reduction. All great things are indeed simple, but when it comes to this wine, I’ve got another quote for you: “He who hesitates is lost.” Enjoy!