We get excited around here when gaining access to a classic Cabernet Sauvignon library release that’s (a) spent its entire life at the winery and (b) entered a prime drinking window, but when it’s a historic Napa Valley star’s prestige bottling, our hearts start racing. For one, blue-chip, back-vintage Cabs have always been an endangered Napa Valley species, even before factoring in collectors’ magnetic attraction to them. Secondly, pedigreed wines of this nature simply don’t last long after release, and any that are purposely held back can never outlast the eternal, exponentially growing demand. So yes, we were champing at the bit to get a second allocation of Ehlers’ widely celebrated “1886”—we just didn’t expect it to happen!

Combining full-bodied power and silky elegance with an unrivaled purity of fruit from Certified Organic vines, I think of this 2014 release as a jaw-dropping fusion of legendary Margaux and $200+ Oakville. As we said for last year’s thunderous 2012: These luxury showpieces perform at the level of many culty Napa Cabs for a fraction of the cost—and we’d rather drink this one! NOTE: Our allocated parcel is still resting at the estate, and purchases must be capped at six bottles until depletion.

Ehlers Estate is ancient by California standards. In the late 1800s, Bernard Ehlers bought a 10-acre parcel of land in St. Helena, planting an olive grove and replanting the struggling vineyards. By 1886, he finished construction of the stone barn that still serves as the estate’s tasting room. Today’s eponymous wine, the estate’s signature bottling, serves as a tribute to that date. The winery has been in continuous operation since the 19th century, even through prohibition when it was designated a “home winery.” After a series of ownership changes, the small parcel of land was acquired by the Leducq family in 2001 and added to their nearby vineyard sites to create a contiguous 42-acre estate. 

Though many of the Bordeaux varieties are planted across the estate, Cabernet is still king here, comprising 25 acres of the total vineyard planting. Many of the vines supplying fruit for the ‘1886’ blend are from blocks planted on bench land - the rocky soils washed down from the Mayacamas Mountains—and comprise six different clones planted to multiple rootstocks. All the vineyards on the estate have been farmed biodynamically for over a decade and the estate has been certified organic since 2008. With no point of the property farther than 600 yards from the winery, the full-time vineyard team can have complete control over every element of viticulture and their attention to detail shows. 

Harvest for today’s 2014 was conducted in mid-September and into the first couple days of October. The blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot was fermented using natural yeasts and aged in 100% French oak barrels, 70% new for well over 20 months. It was finally bottled in August of 2016, which now gives this wine nearly five years of bottle maturation. An opaque purple-crimson core spills into the glass revealing a wine of substantial weight and concentration. But this is far removed from the heavy-handed, oak-fueled fruit bombs that have staked wide claims throughout Napa. Ehlers Estate never loses sight of finesse and balance, something that shines beautifully in this 2014. Given a minimum 60-minute decant, intoxicating, high-toned aromatics begin rolling out: You’ll discover ripe cherry, blackberry, and Damson plums bursting at the seams alongside blackcurrant, licorice, crushed graphite, pipe tobacco, candied violet, cacao, clove, vanilla pod, and roasted coffee beans. The palate is full-bodied and superbly soft, with opulent layers of fruit liqueur and densely packed spices that exist on a backbone of velvety tannins. It’s drinking spectacularly well right now, but as Ehlers Estate says, this is “built to last a lifetime.” An exaggeration, perhaps, but there’s no refuting that this will keep churning for decades without losing steam. Enjoy this back-vintage masterpiece!