Salvestrin Dr. Crane Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

#9 Wine of the Year, Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2021

​​Dr. George Belden Crane was among the first visionaries to plant vines in the U.S. back in 1862. He made the sobering discovery that he would later document in his medical journal that there was far more money to be made in wine grapes than in medicine. If only he could have been around to see what his grapes fetch today!

Eventually, Ed Salvestrin’s family would go on to buy the Crane property in 1932. He and his wife, Suzanne would sell the fruit to the high-flying big name players in wine, such as the Beckstoffers (who purchased the vineyard in 1999), Paul Hobbs, Alpha Omega and Realm just to name a few. By the late 90’s prices had already began to swell into the $200-$300 range, with Dr. Crane Vineyard fruit commanding far more per ton than almost any other vineyard in the valley.

But like many of the best wines in the worlds, the Salvestrins finally decided to make their own Dr. Crane Vineyard Cabernet and bottle it under the family name. Ever since their inaugural vintage in 2001, they have become managed to stay a bit under the radar while consistently garnering big scores from arguably the world’s two toughest critics in Wine Spectator and Parker’s Wine Advocate.

But this one appears to be the greatest Salvestrin Dr. Crane Vineyard Cabernet ever made. Both critics lit up at this year’s bottling with Wine Spectator even including it in their Top 10 wines of the year in their 2021 Top 100 list. Due to our ongoing support of Salvestrin, I managed to sneak 24 bottles out of Napa Valley. Don’t miss them while they’re in.