Taplin Cellars Ghost Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena 2023

If you love the timeless, site-driven ethos of Hayfork—one of ACME’s all-time favorite boutique Napa producers—the wines from Taplin Cellars will feel instantly familiar. Same old-school Napa soul. Same reverence for land. Same belief that great wine is grown, not engineered. And a multigenerational family bond connecting the two estates.

The wines from Taplin Cellars are far from new to us. ACME sold their Terra 9 back when their debut 2009 vintage was first released, and we've remained closely connected to the family and the wines ever since. The Taplin story in Napa begins long before Cabernet was king. John Orange Taplin, a Vermont dairyman, arrived during the Gold Rush and by 1866 had established a dairy along what is now the Silverado Trail—near the road that still bears his name, Taplin Road. Long before tasting rooms and cult labels, the Taplins were learning this land from the ground up. High school sweethearts, Ken and Alice Taplin both grew up in St. Helena, and their love of the valley influenced the choice to remain there to raise their children. Their sons, Bill and Stephen, are the fifth-generation Taplins now stewarding the land and family business, employing their love of Napa Valley, great food, and great wine to drive the legacy forward. After launching the label in 2011 to highlight their most cherished blocks of fruit from the vineyards, Bill and Stephen invited the next generation to the table and welcomed Adam Taplin (the eldest of the cousins) as a partner.

Guided by winemaker Julien Fayard—whose résumé spans Lafite Rothschild, Smith Haut Lafitte, and years as Philippe Melka’s director of winemaking—this is 100% St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon that has been handled with a deep respect for terroir. Julien selected a bold oak regimen of 100% new barrels to match the intensity of this powerhouse wine. It's dark and inky at first glance, with chocolatey, extra-ripe fruits, and baking spice on the nose. Cherry preserves, black plum, and dried herbs infuse the structured palate, and the wide, grippy tannins carry through the finish. With this much packed-in punch, decanting or patience in the cellar will be ever so rewarding.