Rutherford Magic: 2018 Sullivan Vineyards Coeur de Vigne Rutherford

You hear about boutique wineries and their wines that often seem unattainable. Perhaps you’ve been fortunate to be “in the know” and purchase Napa wine with a cult following, perhaps you haven’t. Whether you have a cellar full of sought-after cult wines or you’ve always wanted to have just one bottle of a cult wine, this is your chance!

Big Hammer Wines has a small allotment of the 2018 Sullivan Vineyards Coeur de Vigne, a small production wine with cult status, and we’re making it available to you. Sullivan Vineyards has been around since 1972. 50 years in Napa means plenty of time to know exactly what grows within the fertile soils of a region, and Sullivan Vineyards is in Napa’s premier Cabernet Sauvignon AVA, Rutherford. Its neighbors are the likes of BV, Cakebread, Caymus, and Alpha Omega.

Within Sullivan’s 26 Rutherford acres are rows and rows of Bordeaux varieties, and the Coeur de Vigne (French for Heart of Wine) is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. 

Add a 99 point vintage (according to Wine Spectator) into the mix, and this is a wine that deserves to be sought after. Savory dried herbs and dark chocolate—the wine’s signature elements—are joined by dark fruits, minerality, and earthiness in this Bordeaux blend that will age well for the next 10 years.

Anthony Dias Blue awarded the wine 95 points calling it “lush,” and James Suckling says it’s a “full-bodied, rich, and intense palate with plush tannins.” 

We don’t have a lot of this small production, Rutherford-grown lush red, and what we do have will go fast because we’re offering it for $74.96, almost 38% off its usual $120 price.That seemingly unattainable cult wine you’ve been looking for? It’s time to get it.

2016 Whitehall Lane Leonardini Estate Cabernet Sauvignon