2014 Robert Craig, "Affinity" Cabernet Sauvignon

The La Londe Vineyard sits in Coombsville, tucked into the Mt. George foothills on Napa Valley's eastern edge—a spot most tourists never find. When Bob Craig discovered this hillside site in 1993, he saw volcanic soils that force vines to struggle, elevations that keep nights cool, and exposures that ripen Cabernet to perfection without making jam. This isn't Napa's famous valley floor with its deep, fertile soils. La Londe is all fractured volcanic rock and stony earth, the kind of terroir that makes vines dig deep and berries stay small. The high-density, cane-pruned vines yield just 2.8 tons per acre. Those tiny, intensely flavored berries are what create Affinity's signature: power with restraint, concentration without weight. The 2014 vintage was one for the ages in Napa. After three stellar vintages in a row, Mother Nature delivered a fourth that might have topped them all. The growing season was textbook perfect—no rain, no excessive heat, just steady ripening that let mountain