Can you believe we (you!) exclusively depleted the entire production of the 2021 Crossfire?

If you’ve been in our Operative Hangout on Facebook, you know how many times this wine gets mentioned.

Take it straight from your fellow Ops:

“she good! 🤣 Seriously a great wine, glad I got several! 🥰” - Carissa L “an incredibly affordable wine, given the pedigree of the fruit and the prestigious appellation, not to mention the (in my opinion) deserved fame of the winemaker.” - Ed Rogers “Freaking delish, I had to open a second bottle” Brian M. “Fantastic! Loved it!” - Peter W.

Demand quickly outgrew our limited supply. So, we went back to the source and asked, what else? How about some LIBRARY Crossfire?! Those cases they held back for rainy days?! From the EPIC 2018 vintage? Score!

Once again, that magic formula: 94 Points AND 70% OFF! The end of this World’s End begins now.

Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard. Cab. 2018.

You just can’t go wrong with this combination of site, varietal, and vintage.

Vinous confirms what we already know… Missouri Hopper is one of the best. Alpha Omega, Carter Cellars, Purlieu, The Debate, Venge Family come to mind as others out there in the $150-250 range. Neighbors like Vine Hill Ranch and Dominus?! That’s understandable. A Heritage site with an illustrious history, named after a prominent landlady of 1870s Oakville, when it was first planted. To this day, maybe only To Kalon shadows its reputation.

That’s why Vinous recognizes them as a pair, praising these “two super-expressive wines from Jonathan Maltus’ World’s End range done in a sumptuous style that emphasizes textural richness and early approachability.”

Maltus emerged as a leading visionary from the 1990s ‘garagiste’ period in St.-Émilion, where he pushed the limits and broke all the traditional rules to set new expectations for quality and price. He does it all, most notably across places like Le Dôme and Teyssier and other top Right Bank estates. World’s End was his claim to equal fame in Napa Valley, easy when connected with all the ‘right’ vineyards like this.

Do sources get better really? The truth is in the bottle. Quite large in stature, this is a full throttle, extracted beast of a Cab that has mellowed out beautifully with some bottle age. Bursting in the seams with inky black fruit - blackcurrant, black plum, and blackberry pie. Sweet tobacco, graphite, mocha, and streaks of violet have joined the fruit hand in hand. Fans of traditional Cabernets may struggle to wrap their palates around this hedonistic rollercoaster thrill ride. Otherwise, buckle up.

Here today, history tomorrow - run before getting caught in the crossfire!

94 Points – Jeb Dunnuck “The 2018 Crossfire is a solid step up, offering remarkable purity and precision in its abundant crème de cassis, tobacco, flowers, and graphite-like aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, concentrated, and structured, it needs 3-4 years to hit its sweet spot and should evolve nicely through 2038.”

93 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate “World’s End is the Napa venture of peripatetic Englishman Jonathan Maltus, probably best known for his Bordeaux estates: Château Teyssier and Le Dôme. Much of the fruit comes from superstar grower Andy Beckstoffer, which comes at a price, and the length of the relationship has a bearing on what fruit you have access to. The 2018 Crossfire Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard features notes of dark chocolate, cedar, cassis, plum and spice cake. It’s all Cabernet Sauvignon from this Oakville site, matured in 80% new French oak (20% second-fill). Full-bodied and plush but still reasonably structured, it’s drinking well now but should go for another decade or more. Drink 2023-2035.”