The late Napa Valley icon settled on the dusty, gravelly Rutherford Bench back in 1972, four years before the Judgment of Paris made Napa a household name. It would be two decades before Rutherford would earn AVA status and another two before local cult-Cabernets would sell at auction for quadruple-digit prices. Yet somehow, he knew.

The Sullivan property contains half the soil types found in Napa Valleyimpressive, even in a region defined by its geological diversityand on the advice of his friend, the legendary Andr Tchelistcheff, Sullivan planted Bordeaux varieties. Andy Beckstoffer snatched up a vineyard next door just a year later, and over the years, wineries like Quintessa and Alpha Omega would pop up and do the same thing.

We could name Sullivans iconic neighbors all day, but a taste of this 2020 Coeur de Vigne Cabernet is all you really need to understand the winerys prestige. A Wine Enthusiast 96-pointer, the wine carries the same satiny heft that long ago inspired Robert Parker to call Sullivan wines among the richest and most massively constituted in Napa. Its muscular yet supple, bold yet deeply complex, and laden with black-fruit opulence and powerful concentration.

Buy Coeur de Vigne at the winery and youll pay $130a fair price compared to many of Sullivans Rutherford neighborsbut because our last few Sullivan estate Cabs sold out immediately, they extended us 37 cases at a stunning 55% discount: just $59by far the best price in the nation.

This is the kind of lush boldness that helped transform Rutherford from relatively unknown farmland to one of the worlds most sought-after Cabernet sites. Its why Sullivan is a Wine Access favorite, and whyif history is any indicationour cases wont hang around for long.