Rockledge Wine Company - "Brems Sands" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2024

Rockledge is precisely the kind of label we want you to know. As a micro-negociant focused on boutique Cabernet Sauvignon, Rockledge brings us wines that emphasize quality while offering the kind of value that is nearly impossible to find in Napa. They are a producer worth knowing, not simply a bottle worth buying. At the Corkscrew, we believe great wine begins with the people behind it, and we take pride in bringing our customers discoveries that reward curiosity, deliver exceptional value and deserve a place in their regular rotation. Rockledge is a name to remember.

2024 was a vintage of contrasts, yet it is quickly shaping up to be outstanding. Winter rains replenished the soils and a cool spring set an even crop, then a summer with close to forty days over 100 degrees tested every grower in the valley. A combination of healthy foliage and a calmer September let the fruit finish without being rushed. Resultant wines display incredible freshness and precision married with the richness of a warm year with real backbone. At their finest, these 2024s — like Rockledge’s Brem Sands — showcase remarkable approachability in their youth with the structure to evolve and age gracefully over the next decade plus.

The 2024 Rockledge "Brems Sands" opens with cassis, black cherry and blueberry, layered with cedar, cocoa, violet and a touch of graphite. The palate is broad and generous, with ripe black fruit framed by firm, polished tannins and enough freshness to keep it lively. It finishes long, with mocha, tobacco leaf and warm spice. Pair it with a dry-aged ribeye, braised short ribs or rosemary-crusted rack of lamb. Be sure to decant for an hour if you open it this year. It will drink beautifully over the next ten years, gaining poise and savory complexity along the way. This is classic Oakville Cabernet without the famous name on the label, and a price that feels like an insider's secret.