2016 Paul Hobbs Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Paul Hobbs, hailed by Forbes as the “Steve Jobs of the wine world,” is a name that changed the landscape of Napa Valley and beyond. A graduate with a Master’s degree in Viticulture and Winemaking from UC Davis, Hobbs first rose to prominence as Robert Mondavi’s right-hand man, playing a pivotal role as the first winemaker at the legendary Opus One winery. His journey didn’t stop there—Hobbs became vice-president of Simi Winery and eventually established a world-renowned wine empire with estates like Paul Hobbs Winery and Crossbarn in California, Viña Cobos in Argentina, Crocus in France, and Yacoubian-Hobbs in Armenia.

Today, he consults with over 30 wineries across the globe, bringing his unparalleled expertise to regions in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Canada, Spain, and beyond.

Beckstoffer To Kalon is the vineyard that launched Napa's reputation. Henry Walker Crabb planted it near Oakville in 1868 and amassed more than 400 varieties — one of the largest collections in the world by the 1880s. The Chicago Herald called him the "Wine King of the Pacific Slope." Today, To Kalon fruit commands the highest prices in the valley, and access is limited to a handful of producers. Paul Hobbs is one of them.

The 2016 vintage delivered the structure and concentration serious Napa Cabernet demands. This wine was hand-harvested at night between October 7 and 13 to preserve freshness, then bottled at just 469 cases. The result is densely saturated garnet in the glass, with strikingly focused aromatics of crushed graphite, cedar, sage, and cigar box. Flavors of mountain black cherry, wild blackberry, and currant run deep, framed by a solid tannin backbone with intensity and length. The finish is salty, savory, and built to cellar a decade-plus.

This is the kind of bottle that proves the decision before you pull the cork. Three critics north of 95 points. A vineyard with 150 years of legacy. A producer who helped build Opus One. The wine speaks for itself — but the scores, the provenance, and the scarcity make saying yes easy.