Philippe Melka makes wines that sell for $300 a bottle. He also made this one. The 2019 Pursuit is what you get when the same Melka — the Pétrus- and Haut-Brion-trained consultant behind some of Napa's most decorated small-production labels — turns his team's attention to a $40 bottle. His co-winemakers, Maayan Koschitzky and Matt Sands, are the same hands that appear on bottles priced four to five times higher than what you're looking at here.

The project belongs to Alejandro Bulgheroni, the same owner behind Otronia in Patagonia and the broader New Frontier Wine Company portfolio. The sourcing model is straightforward: Melka's team leverages fifteen-plus years of relationships in Napa Valley to access premier fruit at terms unavailable to most brands. The result gets blended, guided, and shaped by the same team that moves markets when they release $200 bottles.

The 2019 is the blend you'd expect from this team — 81% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot rounding it out. Decanter awarded 90 points; Jeb Dunnuck called it "a good value" with medium to full-bodied dark berry, cassis, tobacco and chocolate. At 15.5% ABV, it's a big wine that opens well with decanting. Drink through 2028–2029.