Rockmere Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2022

Working with small, family-run estates allows ACME to offer our clients something rare in today’s Napa Valley: genuine access and remarkable value. These boutique producers, often pouring every resource into farming and bottling, price their wines with integrity, not pretense. And because they must overdeliver to thrive, their wines often eclipse bottles twice their price. As the cost of top Napa Cabernets soars past $250, discovering these under-the-radar gems has never been more rewarding. If you’re new to the cottage industry of Napa, welcome! ACME has championed these small but mighty producers for over two decades, and the quality-to-price ratio remains unmatched.

The estate capturing our attention in this moment is Rockmere, a father–daughter venture on the southern edge of Stags Leap. Proprietor Chet Pinckernell tends his rocky, river-adjacent five-acre vineyard with near-devotional care, mapping heat variations through the summer to fine-tune irrigation and vine balance. His dedication proved infectious, and his daughter Bailey soon joined him, bringing creative vision and an energy that has helped shape the brand’s identity.

Before the first vine was purchased, Chet already knew who he wanted in the cellar: Jeff Ames, celebrated for his work at TOR and mentored by icons like Thomas Rivers Brown and Ehren Jordan. Ames’s intuitive, vineyard-first approach aligns perfectly with Rockmere’s ethos—let the site speak, don’t force it to conform.

The 2022 Rockmere Cabernet Sauvignon captures everything we love about this estate. 100% estate-grown from a three-acre parcel of Clones 337, 15, and 30, it was aged 22 months in 85% new French oak (Darnajou and Taransaud). The wine opens with aromas of black cherry, plum, and lavender before unfolding into a silken palate of dark fruit, cocoa, and savory herbs. Plush yet focused, it finishes with a whisper of minerality and the signature tension of Stags Leap. This is the kind of Napa Cabernet that reminds us why we seek out the small, the passionate, and the quietly brilliant.