Chad Cabernet Blend Napa Valley 2018

When it comes to finding home-run deals in Napa Valley reds, we all should have a load of faith in my friend, Chad. His “Chad Plan” calls for wineries to bottle their new wines in “shiners”. Wine bottled without label or branded cork. For many wineries with bloated inventories, this gives them an out when current markets aren’t providing one. Chad offers a price on the entire lot that is substantially higher than the depressed bulk market but still dramatically less the intended retail.

Chad bottles these “shiners” under his own label, talks about vineyard sources and how the wine is made but doesn’t mention the winery’s name. The Chad label is all about opportunity; the opportunity for wineries to get out of stuck product without cheapening their brand and the opportunity of a lifetime for consumers to buy fantastic American wine at everyday prices.

His latest release is the 2018 Napa Valley Proprietary Red Wine. This Cabernet-based blend, a rich, teeth-staining wine, which delivers way more power, fruit and finish than any other $25 Napa Valley red that I have tasted all year. It features aromas and flavors of black currant, plum, mocha and cigar box, leading to a packed middle core of black fruit. The ’18 Chad Prop Red displays the concentration and length generally found in bottles twice its price (that’s because what’s in the bottle IS twice the price!).

This is a no-brainer choice to be your house Cab as long as supply lasts. I’m sure Chad will find another opportunity but this is a special wine. Don’t miss it.