Mission Codename Clif hanger
Stop what you’re doing. This one is worth halting your life to jump on.
92 points AND 55% off?! Don’t wait.
You might know them for their world-famous Clif Bar kingdom but now you’ll know them for their wine. Founding husband and wife team Kit Crawford and Gary Erickson take everything they do seriously. Which means they do it seriously well.
Not only are they Certified CCOF and Napa Green Vineyard, but they are ALSO a Certified B Corp. After founding Clif Family Winery in 2004 to honor a family tradition of connecting food, wine, and the land, they opened the St. Helena Tasting Room in 2012 to bring that culture to Napa Valley visitors. We highly recommend popping in there to grab a bite to eat and a unique experience if you’re in the area.
They make just a few hundred cases of each wine. Hardly any makes its way outside their tasting room, and what does escape is usually found in a few local wine shops.
This one, the OKD Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, comes from picturesque Red Hen Vineyard. This small site located at the foot of the Mayacamas range is owned by Bart and Daphne Araujo. Only a handful of producers source fruit from here - including La Pelle, Ashes & Diamonds and Nicholson Jones. And this is BY FAR the most affordable of the bunch.
What’s in the glass will not disappoint. Layered and complex, this is a wine worth aging. It is deep and intense with black mission fig jam and savory fresh oak. The tannins here are velvety and fresh which will mellow beautifully with time. For now, though, enjoy the intensity of flavor and fruit concentration.
And grab a few bottles to drop into your cellar for later. This is one for the ages for sure! There’s only so much to go around!
92 Points— Wine Enthusiast
“This figgy, funky wine is so concentrated that it needs time to breathe. Decant it first and then enjoy the massive black fig, black olive flavors and shaping tannins that go deep and focused on the palate. Best from 2028-2038.”
What the Winery Says
2019 'OKD' Red Hen Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
- Winemaker
- Laura Barrett
- Varietal
- 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Vintage
- 2019
- Alcohol
- 14.8%
- Appellation
- Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley
- Vineyard
- Red Hen Vineyard
- Harvest date
- October 19, 2019
- Aging
- 20 months
- Barrels
- 60% new French Oak