As a Wine Spies Operative, you’re used to great deals, but every now and again, we’re able to pull off stupendous deals. Today’s wine is one that you won’t want to miss. This Young Ridge 2012 Premium Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, from the remarkable 96 point 2012 Napa Cab vintage (WS), is one of our best deals ever.

Winemaker Julianna Beckmann Gosling started her winemaking career as an intern at Robert Mondavi Winery, and after graduating from the University of California at Davis, she worked at both Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards. Today Julianna oversees all aspects of the winemaking process, shepherding the wines through from vineyard to bottle.

This wine shows off inky dark purple hues at the core of the wine, with black cherry hues at the meniscus. Tall, skinny legs move slowly down the glass wall after a swirl. On the nose, this wine is very aromatic, with a melange of spice, blackberry, currant, sweet pipe tobacco, hard leather, dried cherry, sweet oak, and dark chocolate. This wine glides onto the palate, where it expands and explodes with flavors of blackcurrant, blackberry preserve, spiced cherry, cherry bark, toasty oak, vanilla, dusty cocoa powder, black cherry cordial, and mixed spice. The finish is elegant and very long with fine tannins that give the wine a smooth, silky feel that leads to a slightly chewy conclusion. Enjoy this beautiful wine with your favorite grilled meats. We’ll have ours with a giant Porterhouse, charred to perfection.

This wine hails from the latest hit vintage, the incredible 2012. The last time we saw a vintage this superb, was the decade-high 2010. We all got very lucky with this vintage, as we normally see a full decade or more pass between such stellar vintages. In fact, the 2012 Napa Cabernet vintage was awarded a stratospheric 96 points (Wine Spectator Magazine) - making this wine one to stock up on.