2017 Three Wine Company Cabernet Sauvignon Suscol Creek Napa Valley 750 ml

“There’s just never been enough.” 

Over the last 16 years, Matt’s Three Wine Co has earned an ARMY of Wine Access fans, who’ve given the wines thousands of four- and five-star reviews. But we’ve never had the chance to offer Matt’s sensational Suscol Creek Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Grown on the same south Napa site that Caymus and Fortunate Son (Hundred Acre’s second label) rely on—in the same neighborhood where Cakebread grows a $130 single-vineyard wine and Joseph Phelps boosts their $250 Insignia—the tiny quantity usually goes solely to his mailing list. 

Matt insists he hasn’t been holding out on us. He’s been working with Suscol Creek Vineyard since 2007. Here in south Napa near the Solano County line, “It’s all rock. There’s very little dirt here. Look! Stick a shovel anywhere, it’s fractured basalt,” he told us on a recent vineyard walk. “It’s a cool site, so I typically harvest in early to mid-October.” That long hangtime made for picture-perfect bunches in 2017.

When it comes to fermenting Cabernet Sauvignon, “I go low and slow,” Matt told us. “The wine gets about 18 days on the skins, but I keep the temp really low, around 62°.” These low fermentation temperatures keep the wine fresh and preserve the fruity esters that result in aromas like blackberries, black plums, and warm, inviting blackcurrants. It's a decadent Cab with a richness that is immediately apparent and velvety toward the finish. 

When it comes to bold, concentrated reds, Matt Cline is a master. His wines have racked up hundreds of five-star member reviews from Wine Access members, and this is exactly the kind of blockbuster that will keep the streak going.