Chad Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

In the hands of some of the best winemakers in the country, Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignons fetch upwards of $200/btl, and earn some of the highest scores anywhere, outpointing wines from Howell Mountain, Spring Mountain and Pritchard Hill along the way. Arrowood, Beringer, Philippe Melka and Peter Michael all make highly scored reserve wines with the requisite 3-digit price tags in the Knights Valley AVA.

But Philippe Melka and Peter Michael better watch out, because if there’s someone who can churn out full-bodied, well-structured Cabernet Sauvignon that can compete with the big boys at a fraction of the price, it’s Chad Alexander. Taking advantage of the generous 2019 North Coast vintage that handed him perfect weather and grape maturity, Chad’s Cabernet is big and elegant yet incredibly fresh. As always though, our humble friend loathes taking the credit. “I just took what the vintage gave me.”

In vintages like 2019, don’t be afraid to lay into North Coast Cab. From what I’ve tasted so far, that’s an investment that will be paying off for years to come. Chad’s Knights Valley Cabernet is a must-have, a monster that punches way above its weight class and somehow manages to stay under $30/btl for us on bottle 1.