Premiere Napa Valley is always a bright time for the wine industry. The annual live auction, which supports the work of nonprofit trade association Napa Valley Vintners, is both an opportunity for retailers to pick up exclusive and elusive lots from the valley’s vintners and a meeting point for winemakers and trade partners after a long winter.
This year’s auction included 166 one-of-a-kind lots. Together, they raised over $3 million for the NVV. (While that number is a drop from last year’s $3.4 million, the current economic slump is largely to blame.) Sotheby’s managed the stream of bidders, both online and at St. Helena’s Culinary Institute of America campus. Registered bidders spanned 10 countries.
“The strength of the Napa Valley wine region is evidenced in the bidding activity and demand for Napa Valley’s prestigious Premiere Napa Valley wines” said Nick Pegna, Sotheby’s Global Head of Wine & Spirits.
Premiere Napa Valley funds the annual operations, including marketing, education, and outreach, of the Napa Valley Vintners. The non-profit is made up of 539 member wineries across the valley.
What’s so special about Premiere lots? Vintners often reserve special fruit or offer limited-edition runs, so bottles are always extraordinary and unavailable elsewhere.
This year’s festivities included a few special lots — collaborative bottlings worked on by two or more of the region’s vintners. It was a unique chance to try one-time-only partnerships from some of Napa’s biggest names — how often do you get to have esteemed winemakers jumping on the same track? Here are a few of the most exciting lots.
Corison, Gallica, Matthiasson
In a sea of Cabernet Sauvignon, three legendary winemakers — Cathy Corison, Rosemary Cakebread and Steve Matthiasson — decided to come together to put out not a red, but a rosé. Grapes are sourced from vineyards from each producer, then blended to produce just one barrel for the auction.
Women Winemakers
This lot brought together an unparalleled group of winemakers, all who happen to be women, to craft one of the most memorable and elegant wines of the auction. Over a dozen winemaries, including Bouchaine Vineyards, Crocker & Starr Wines, Gaderian, PEJU, Tres Sabores, and so many more, worked side by side to produce the Cabernet, blended with a kiss of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot.
Napa Valley’s 16 AVAs
This wine weaves through all 16 of Napa’s AVAs, threading through Oakville, Howell Mountain, Diamond Mountain, then back through the heart of the valley. A who’s who of vintners had their hand in this Cabernet-based Bordeaux blend: Alpha Omega, Antinori Napa Valley, Chappellet Vineyard, PlumpJack, Shafer Vineyards, St. Supery Estate Vineyards, and nine other top properties.
Burgess Cellars, Heitz Cellar, Stony Hill Vineyard
For the first time, the three historic wineries came together to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon sourced entirely from each’s estate vineyards. Heitz sourced fruit from Martha’s Vineyard in Oakville, Burgess from its Sorenson vineyard on the slopes of Howell Mountain (first planted in 1870) and Stony Hill from its namesake property in Spring Mountain.
Diamond Mountain Six
Six neighboring wineries from Diamond Mountain pulled some of their favorite fruit from the region to form a singular bottling that uniquely expresses the very best lots from across the region. Davies, Diamond Creek, Diamond Mountain, Dyer, The Vineyardist, and Wallis all lent their fruit and expertise to this extraordinary lot.
Matthiasson, Trois Noix
Steve Matthiasson also weighed in on a Chardonnay alongside Oak Knoll neighbors Trois Noix, a vibrant producer that focuses on fresh, forward-thinking Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Cabernet. The collaborative Chardonnay lot — a personal auction favorite — was fresh and energetic and precise. Both producers offer an exciting peek into the future of the region.
Stags Leap Unleashed
In a one-of-a-kind collaboration, four wineries from the Stags Leap district (Baldacci, Chimney Rock, Pine Ridge, Quixote) partnered on a wine that captures the essence of the appellation. The wine is aged for 24 months in new French oak — powerful and finessed.
Faint-Main, Tierra Roja Vineyards
Two intimate and highly historic Oakville wineries, Fait-Main and Tierra Roja, joined forces to create a 100% Oakville Cabernet grown out of iron-rich red soil. It’s a partnership between grower Linda Neal and Lyonnaise winemaker Benoit Touquette and highlights fruit from both Tierra Roja and Beckstoffer Missouri-Hopper.
Also included in this year’s collaborative lots: a 100% Rutherford blend from Foley Johnson and PEJU, made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petite Verdot sourced from estate fruit. The blend was aged for 18 months in new French oak. From The Debate and Fiadh Ruadh, winemakers Jean Hoefliger and Nova Cadamatre blended top wines from both estates for a 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon.