Madrona Ranch, Abreu 2019 75cl

Madrona Ranch was the vineyard that started it all for David Abreu. He developed the St. Helena site in 1980, replanting after clearing diseased vines, farmed it for decades and finally bought it outright around 2021. Abreu is the vineyard manager behind a roll-call of Napa cult wines — Screaming Eagle, Harlan, Colgin, Bryant — and Madrona Ranch is where his own name first made history, when Parker gave the 1997 a perfect 100.

This 2019 is a Bordeaux blend — 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Cabernet Franc, with a little Petit Verdot and Merlot — from a vintage widely rated among Napa's finest. What's striking is the restraint. Antonio Galloni scored it 98+ and called it flat-out stunning: bright and intensely delineated, with red-toned fruit, mint, blood orange, spice and rose petal lending vibrancy to a wine that is usually a bruiser but here shows unusual refinement.

Jeb Dunnuck matched it at 98, noting darker fruits, sage, leafy herbs and sandalwood over a frame that carries power and elegance in equal measure to a gorgeous finish. The Cabernet Franc component gives it that lifted, aromatic top note the best Abreu wines are known for.

At £690 this is rare, collector-grade Napa. Dunnuck's advice is blunt and worth heeding — forget it for four to six years, and it will cruise for over two decades. Buy it to cellar, not to open on a Tuesday.

How to Serve

Serve at 16 to 18°C. If you must open it young, decant several hours ahead; ideally, give it the years it deserves in the cellar. Largest glass you own.

Where to Drink It

Scott's in Mayfair for a bottle of this stature. Wiltons for the full Jermyn Street ceremony. The Connaught Bar for a reflective glass to finish.

Food Pairings

A dry-aged Chateaubriand, kept simple, lets the wine speak. Otherwise, roast squab or venison with truffle.