Imbibe’s private Collection
premiere napa
A once in a lifetime offer
david’s NOTE
As many of you know, I have been going to a special event held each year in Napa Valley called “Premiere Napa”
Over the years we have made a lot of friends and purchased a lot of wine. I recently got the opportunity to find a home for some of the greatest lots that have come out of this auction. Each year I would travel to the valley with staff and some VIP customers to attend many open houses days before the auction. We would make notes and come auction day we would hope to land them. All these wines have been stored in ideal conditions for their entire life. I personally picked them up and transported them to Imbibe in a refrigerated truck. This is hands down the most exciting purchase I have ever made in my 35 years as a wine merchant.
If you’re not familiar, Premier Napa is an auction that takes place once a year for trade only. These special lots are donated by the vintners of Napa Valley to the Napa Vintners Association to be auctioned off. The proceeds go towards promoting Napa Valley around the world. These lots are one of a kind and mostly consist of only 60 bottles for the world. Each bottle is hand numbered and signed by the proprietor. I have attacked notes from the auction catalogs from different years.
You will not come across an opportunity like this again.
Happy Shopping!
David, and the entire Imbibe team.
Premiere Napa Valley Private Cellar Selections
a once in a lifetime OPPORTUNITY
ZD Wines is owned and operated by three generations of the deLeuze family. Petit Abacus (defined by Abacus) is the embodiment of over 40 years of the family’s dedication to innovative winemaking. Defined by ZD’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Abacus is a solera-style blend (multi-vintage) of every Reserve Cabernet the winery has ever produced—nineteen vintages (1992- 2010) married with our 2010 Petit Verdot. The resulting wine is a rare treasure—a meeting between the complexity of age and the vibrancy of youth.
PNV ZD PETIT ABACUS
2016 PETIT ABACUS BOTTLES: $499.00
We present Petit Abacus, a wine inspired by our Abacus program, reflecting over 40 years of the family's commitment to innovative winemaking. Petit Abacus is characterized by ZD's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, a blend created in a solera style (incorporating multiple vintages) from every Reserve Cabernet produced by the winery – spanning 20 vintages from 1992 to 2011 – blended with our 2011 Petit Verdot.
PNV ZD PETIT ABACUS
2017 PETIT ABACUS BOTTLES: $499.00
Petit Abacus 2017, a standout in the realm of wines, fusing over twenty years of ZD's exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon with a hint of 2012 Petit Verdot. This powerful combination merges the depth of experience with the vibrancy of youth, resulting in a genuine oenological masterpiece.
PNV ZD PETIT ABACUS
2014 PETIT ABACUS BOTTLES: $499.00
2015 PETIT ABACUS BOTTLES: $499.00
PNV ZD PETIT ABACUS
2018 PETIT ABACUS BOTTLES: $499.00
2019 PETIT ABACUS BOTTLES: $499.00
2011 VHR BOTTLES: $229.00
2020 PETIT ABACUS BOTTLES: $499.00
PNV VHR
2012 VHR BOTTLES: $299.00 & 3 MAGS: $599.00
95 Points Wine Advocate
The 2012 Vine Hill Ranch VHR exhibits the exuberance and boisterous characteristics of this vintage, with plenty of Christmas fruitcake, cedar wood, licorice, black currants galore, a stunningly full-bodied texture, purity, and opulence. Rich and dense, with soft tannins and relatively low acidity, this is a gorgeous wine to drink now and over the next 20+ years.
PNV VHR
2013 VHR BOTTLES: $299.00
96+ Points Wine Advocate
A slightly higher production of 775 cases was made with the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a prodigious Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, with notes of creosote, camphor and burning embers, which give it an almost Graves-like character, but then the rich, creamy, pure blackberry and cassis fruit kick in. The wine has fabulous intensity, a multi-layered, dense, full-bodied texture and terrific finish. The tannins are slightly more dominant than in the 2012, but they offer sweetness and creaminess as opposed to any astringency or harshness, This is a modern-day classic from Vine Hill Ranch and probably the finest wine they have ever made. Drink it over the next 30+ years.
PNV VHR
2015 VHR BOTTLES: $289.00
94+ Points Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with cedar notions over a cassis, warm blackberries and black cherries core with hints of spice box, garrigue and bay leaves. Full-bodied, firm and grainy with nice vibrant fruit expression, it has lots of oak at this youthful but that should marry nicely with a further 3-4 years in bottle.
PNV VINEYARD 29
2009 VINEYARD 29 Cabernet Sauvignon BOTTLES: $249.00
The St. Helena Special. Our Premiere Napa Valley 2011 blend is one of a kind and all about Cabernet from the St. Helena appellation. We begin with selections from the top barrels from our own estates, the gently sloping hillside Vineyard 29 vineyard and cobblestone-rich Aida Vineyard. Vineyard 29’s silky black fruit fuses with Aida’s seductively lush and intensely spiced fruit to begin this amazing Cabernet. To further enhance this striking wine, we have blended samplings from the top lots of our Cru vineyards within St. Helena, bringing deep red fruit and firm tannins from tiny, concentrated berries to this amazing blend. This wine will be in your collection for years and years to come!
PNV VINEYARD 29
2010 VINEYARD 29 Cabernet Sauvignon BOTTLES: $249.00
PNV 2011 VINEYARD 29 “The St. Helena Special” Cabernet Sauvignon BOTTLES: $175.00
PNV 2013 VINEYARD 29 “Power, Elegance, Perfection” Cabernet Sauvignon BOTTLES: $249.00
PNV 2014 VINEYARD 29 Cabernet Sauvignon BOTTLES: $249.00
PNV TEXTBOOK
PNV 2009 TEXTBOOK CABERNET “Professor Pey” BOTTLES: $59.00
Our 2009 Professor Pey Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon lot was inspired by too many years in college studying science and French. Its core of Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon means it is classically structured, tastes great in quiet paneled libraries and is ready to earn an “A” grade from even the most intellectual of fine wine connoisseurs. It’s OK to be the teacher’s pet—just make sure you do your homework and bid often for this unique lot!
Aging Process:
Handpicked, hand sorted, gentle press, matured in small new French oak for 14 months. Hand made all the way through.
PNV TEXTBOOK
PNV 2011 TEXTBOOK RED BLEND “Dr. Strange brix” BOTTLES: $49.00
Take two parts Oakville, add one part old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon from the dry east side hills. Ferment. Add one part Merlot from the verdant west side mountains. Ferment. Don't worry about Brix - just think BALANCE. Shake in stainless steel tank for one month until dry. Press gently and settle in fine French oak barrels for eighteen months. Bottle in elegant, tapered bottle and seal with fine Portuguese cork. Relax and serve with friends while watching Stanley Kubrick's superb 1964 movie.
Aging Process:
Hand pruned, handpicked, hand sorted. Matured in 100% French oak for eighteen months. Organic egg white fined. unfiltered.
PNV TEXTBOOK
PNV 2012 TEXTBOOK CABERNET “All or Nothing” bottles: $69.00
·This wine from the Oakville District speaks to the stellar quality of the 2012 vintage
·Rocky soils in the Oakville foothills define this unique lot: dense, dark and delicious
·We gave it the best we have - best block, best variety, best barrel - "All or Nothing"
·80% Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Oakville Merlot; hand-pruned and picked and matured in new French oak
PNV 2010 LAIRD RED BLEND BOTTLES: $89.00
With more than 40 estate-owned vineyards to choose from, the Laird family was able to source some of the best fruit in Napa Valley for this hand-selected, Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend. The selected vineyard sites are from all over the valley, representing many different micro-climates and soil types, truly showing off all that Napa has to offer in this one wine.
Aging Process:
20 months in combo French/American oak, 6 months in bottle
PNV LAIRD
PNV KRUPP
PNV 2010 KRUPP BROTHERS Cabernet BOTTLES: $89.00
Our 2012 Premiere lot is crafted from the five-acre M5 block at Stagecoach Vineyard, which we feel is the best of the site’s more than 300 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. Located in the heart of Stagecoach, sheltered from excessive wind and heat, this block enjoys a gentle south-facing slope and thin, uniformly rocky soil. It is planted to a clone rumored to have come from a First Growth Bordeaux—but what we can confirm is that it produces wine that sings, year in and year out, in its youth and as it ages.
PNV PARALLEL
PNV 2014 PARALLEL RED BOTTLES: $99.00
This rare expression of Napa Valley winemaking is one of only 60 bottles that will ever be made. Think of it as a bit of Napa Valley history in your cellar and celebrated in a glass with friends and family. Your Premiere Napa Valley wine is a 100% hillside Cabernet Sauvignon primarily from one of Philippe Melka’s favorite blocks on Howell Mountain. Beautifully concentrated with depth and complexity, it was aged for 24 months in a 100% French oak barrel. Perfectly age worthy, this wine is explosive on the nose with wild berries, cookie dough and chocolate.
PNV 2010 LAIRD RED BLEND BOTTLES: $89.00
With more than 40 estate-owned vineyards to choose from, the Laird family was able to source some of the best fruit in Napa Valley for this hand-selected, Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend. The selected vineyard sites are from all over the valley, representing many different micro-climates and soil types, truly showing off all that Napa has to offer in this one wine.
Aging Process:
20 months in combo French/American oak, 6 months in bottle
PNV LAIRD
PNV KRUPP
PNV 2010 KRUPP BROTHERS Cabernet BOTTLES: $89.00
Our 2012 Premiere lot is crafted from the five-acre M5 block at Stagecoach Vineyard, which we feel is the best of the site’s more than 300 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. Located in the heart of Stagecoach, sheltered from excessive wind and heat, this block enjoys a gentle south-facing slope and thin, uniformly rocky soil. It is planted to a clone rumored to have come from a First Growth Bordeaux—but what we can confirm is that it produces wine that sings, year in and year out, in its youth and as it ages.
PNV PARALLEL
PNV 2014 PARALLEL RED BOTTLES: $99.00
This rare expression of Napa Valley winemaking is one of only 60 bottles that will ever be made. Think of it as a bit of Napa Valley history in your cellar and celebrated in a glass with friends and family. Your Premiere Napa Valley wine is a 100% hillside Cabernet Sauvignon primarily from one of Philippe Melka’s favorite blocks on Howell Mountain. Beautifully concentrated with depth and complexity, it was aged for 24 months in a 100% French oak barrel. Perfectly age worthy, this wine is explosive on the nose with wild berries, cookie dough and chocolate.
PNV 2011 SPOTTSWOODE CABERNET BOTTLES: $150.00
Owned by the Novak family for more than forty years, the singular Spottswoode Estate Vineyard in St. Helena delivers refined, elegant, lovely wines year in and year out, thanks to alluvial soils, a unique microclimate, organic farming and devotion to scrupulous winemaking. Winemaker Aron Weinkauf chose a particularly expressive barrel from a single block of our 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon for Premiere Napa Valley. Effusive blackberry and spice notes, naturally refined tannins, deep concentration and brilliant color combine to yield an exceptional wine that promises extraordinary development.
PNV SPOTTSWOODE
PNV TRINCHERO
Malbec is rare in Napa Valley—only 1% of total vines planted Elevation is key for Malbec; our Haystack estate vineyard, atop Atlas Peak, is the perfect spot. This craggy, rocky site stresses the vines, resulting in small, intensely concentrated berries. Our Malbec shows incredible depth and character and offers something unique in a sea of Cabernet Sauvignon
Malbec is rare in Napa Valley, and it thrives in our Atlas Peak mountaintop Haystack Estate vineyard. This wine is 100% Malbec and has a very round and soft mouthfeel - not typically associated with mountain fruit - making it eminently approachable.
PNV 2015 TRINCHERO “Haystack Vineyard” Malbec bottles: $49.00
PNV PATEL
PNV 2013 PATEL CABERNET BOTTLES: $99.00
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer George III Vineyard exhibits terrific suppleness along with explosive fruit, sweet tannin, and is very complex. Despite all the rich fruit, the wine is well balanced. This is classic Rutherford wine: the aroma and flavor of what's become known as "Rutherford Dust." This wine represents our debut to PATEL Napa Valley's vineyard designate program.
PNV 2011 SPOTTSWOODE CABERNET BOTTLES: $150.00
This special Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 barrel from Etude reflects a long-term and prosperous relationship with the Phillips family, Napa Valley Winegrowers of 2011. The vineyard is located on Oakville alluvial benchland soil, and with the attention from Jon Priest, Etude's winemaker, produces a wine of great structure, complexity, and signature Oakville qualities and agreeability. Since its founding in 1982, Etude remains steadfast in its philosophy that winemaking begins in the vineyard long before the harvest and that superior grape growing diminishes the need for intervention by the winemaker, resulting in authentic varietal expression.
PNV ETUDE
PNV QUINTESSA
Quintessa is a 280-acre organic and biodynamically farmed vineyard estate with five hills, many valleys, two forests, and a 20-acre lake in Rutherford. The vineyard is divided into 26 blocks planted to five Bordeaux varietals. Each year, Quintessa produces one singular red blend that represents the best from the vineyard each year. For Premiere Napa Valley, Agustin Huneeus and winemaker Charles Thomas are, for the first time, bottling a wine that represents just one block from Quintessa: the 2012 Dragon’s Terraces. One of the largest blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon on the property, it is the only block on the property that has been included in every vintage of Quintessa, since its first vintage in 1994.
PNV 2015 TRINCHERO “Haystack Vineyard” Malbec bottles: $49.00
PNV VHR
PNV 2012 VHR CABERNET 1.5 BOTTLES: $699.00
PNV 2014 VHR CABERNET BOTTLES: $325.00
PNV 2016 VHR CABERNET BOTTLES: $349.00
PNV 2010 VHR CABERNET BOTTLES: $325.00
PNV 2011 PARADIGM CABERNET BOTTLES: $69.00
For Premiere Napa Valley, winemaker Heidi Barrett hand-selected the lots for this special-edition estate Cabernet. The resulting wine is a rich expression of the vineyard that owners Ren and Marilyn Harris have farmed for 36 years—and a paradigm of a beauty
Aging Process:
20 months in barrel and an additional 14 months of bottle aging.
PNV PARADIGM
PNV OVID
·This wine is a blend of barrel-fermented lots from a great vintage
·Meticulously crafted by Austin Peterson, winemaker, and Andy Erickson, consulting winemaker
·From Ovid's estate vineyard on Pritchard Hill, renowned for its terracotta soil and larger-than-life rocks
·Our vineyard is organically farmed by David Abreu and is CCOF certified organic
PNV 2012 OVID RED BLEND “Prichard Hill” BOTTLES: $299.00
PNV SALVESTRIN
PNV 2012 SALVESTRIN “20th Anniversary Blend” CABERNET BOTTLES: $99.00
We are thrilled to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of our inaugural vintage! Three generations of the Salvestrin family have been growing grapes at our family estate in St. Helena since 1932. It was not until 1994 that we took a leap of faith with our first commercial vintage, producing 157 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon. To create a true expression of the fruit that we grow and to share that with others has been unbelievably gratifying. Our 20th Anniversary Blend is a beautiful representation of the classic Red Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Fruit forward, with hints of spice and a velvety mouthfeel, this wine has the potential to age for 15 to 20 years.
PNV 2014 ARIETTA “XX” RED BLEND BOTTLES: $89.00
This rare expression of Napa Valley winemaking is one of only 60 bottles that will ever be made. Think of it as a bit of Napa Valley history in your cellar and celebrated in a glass with friends and family. Your Premiere Napa Valley wine is the crème de la crème of Arietta’s best known and original wine, Arietta Red Wine H Block Hudson Vineyards. Named to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Arietta’s first harvest, this restrained blend from the splendid 2014 vintage is 63% Cabernet Franc and 37% Merlot, all from Arietta’s prized blocks in the Hudson Vineyards and aged in a new French oak barrel.
PNV ARIETTA
PNV HOWELL KELLEHER
· A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon from the best lots from three of Napa Valley’s famous appellations
·The third time we have created this PNV Cabernet from Howell Mountain, Oakville and Spring Mountain
·This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon will never appear commercially
·All three wineries are offering the fantastic 2013 vintage in this lot
PNV 2013 HOWELL KELLEHER PEACOCK VINEYARD “3 Sum” BOTTLES: $69.00
PNV DEBATE
PNV 2015 DEBATE “Beckstoffer Vineyards” RED BLEND BOTTLES: $199.00
The Debate defines the notion of terroir as the interaction of a climate, a soil and a plant in a unique location. With that in mind, we offer three unique terroir perspectives for your pallet. Each is harvested from coveted Beckstoffer vineyards—Missouri Hopper, To Kalon and Dr. Crane—and uniformly crafted to show the true diversity of terroir through each vintage. This wine will possess its own personality and reflect the different facets from its place in the Napa Valley.