Cardinal

Cardinale makes one wine. A single Cabernet Sauvignon each vintage, blended from select mountain and benchland vineyards surrounding Napa Valley, with the blend rebuilt from scratch every year according to what the season gave. That is a rarer discipline than it sounds, because it means declining to bottle anything that does not make the cut.

The mountain and benchland mix is the point: mountain fruit brings structure and tannin, benchland brings flesh and generosity, and the winemaking decision each vintage is how much of each the year can support. Michael's scores are among the highest in the collection at 8 for ambiance, 9 for wine and 8 for staff, an 8.3 average. Confirm current visiting arrangements directly. A destination stop for a Napa Cabernet tour built around single-wine producers.