Last but not least, how about a DOUBLE 97 POINT blockbuster by the esteemed Chris Phelps?

With #5 we go out with a BANG.

This is a singular, top-shelf Napa Cabernet that stands with the best there is.

And we mean singular.

It’s the ONLY wine Ad Vivum makes. Sourced from a single vineyard, using a single clone of Cabernet made by the consulting winemaker for Inglenook and founding winemaker at Dominus. Upon finishing his training at Château Petrus, Chris became the winemaker for Dominus working directly under Christian Moueix for 12 vintages. He then moved on to Caymus where he was the head winemaker for 7 years.

Ad Vivum is his personal passion project.

Sleeping Lady is a top-tier site, supplying fruit to Harlan Estate and for Orin Swift’s elusive ‘Mercury Head’ Cab. Julian Fayard and Jean Hoefliger purchase this fruit, along with a slew of other top producers.

Chris Phelps works closely with vineyard owner Larry Bettinelli and gets the best fruit from this location. Larry identified 8 rows, just under one acre, in the vineyard where he meticulously farms these Cabernet clone 191 vines. Chris is the only one given access to this fruit, and he treats it like a sacrament.

The aromas evoke cassis berries and buds, as well as dark black raspberry and graphite and gorgeous violet perfume. Hints of black cherry, clove, five spice, and sweet vanilla add complexity. On the palate, a core of ripe, silky tannin is enhanced by sweet, well-integrated oak, as well as lingering flavors of cassis, blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, and dark chocolate. Drinking well today should be hitting its stride in a few years and will age gracefully for many more years after that.

Years aside, our allocation of a wine of this caliber - at the best price you’ll ever see - just won’t last.

What Galloni said, “don’t miss it!”

97+ Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

“Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard is deep garnet-purple in color. It leaps from the glass with blackcurrant jelly, warm plums and mulberries notes plus suggestions of black raspberries, roses, tar, anise and fragrant earth. Full-bodied, the palate is very tight-knit, with firm, ripe, grainy tannins and lively acidity supporting the layers upon layers of nuances, finishing very long and wonderfully minerally. 480 cases were made. Drink 2023-2053.”

97 Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous

“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard is every bit as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel. A big, statuesque wine, the 2018 impresses with its energy and vibrancy, both of which are great signs for the future. Today, the 2018 is a bit reticent, but the pedigree is there. Blackberry, mocha, gravel, spice, menthol and lavender begin to emerge, but only gradually. The 2018 is a magical wine from Chris Phelps. Don’t miss it. Drink 2023-2038.”

96 points – Wine Enthusiast

“From the great vineyard site on the western flanks of the Mayacamas, this is an old-world styled wine, with robust structure and power. Cassis and violets are found in abundance, with dense yet cohesive and nearly silky tannins, the oak well-integrated and adding spice and weight. Enjoy 2028-2038.”