Gift Guide Holiday 2022: Best California Reds In Large Format Bottles

Few things are more festive at than a giant bottle of wine – it’s a great gift for the person who has everything, and an impressive offering at any holiday dinner party. Few things are less festive than bringing a waiting list instead of a wine, so when putting together this assembly, availability was important too. While I’m sure you’d love to give a magnum of Lokoya to your bestie, it’s already allocated to the hilt. These vintages are available now, the bottles are beautiful, and many are drinking very well right now if you aren’t interested in cellaring.

If you’re not sure when to open it or how long to decant, the winery will generally be happy to offer advice. And make sure you serve it at the correct temperature. A beautiful California cabernet will not show well if it’s too warm – all you’ll get is a mouthful of alcohol. Please decant – if you want to pour directly from the bottle, you can double-decant (only for a young wine though), but you’ll need to be careful about sediment.

Here, in no particular order, are some terrific gifts that would please any wine lover.

2019 Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon, Beckstoffer To Kalon ($475)

There’s a reason that Beckstoffer To Kalon is often considered one of Napa Valley’s first-growth vineyards. Established in 1868, the vineyard’s climate is warm and sunny throughout the day, and cooled by late afternoon breezes, which creates a ripe Cabernet with balanced acidity. The 2019, which underwent 21 months of élevage in French oak barrels (78% new), is drinking beautifully right now, with a brambly, leathery nose and cranberry on the palate. The finish goes on and on and on… and the brand says the combination of powerful fruit, fine-tuned tannins, and lively natural acidity mean that with proper cellaring it will continue to open and gain immense depth and length. Vintages available for purchase: 2016 ($495), 2017 ($475), 2018 ($475) and 2019 ($475).

2019 Vida Valiente The Movement™ Cabernet Sauvignon ($650)

Feel good while drinking incredibly well — that’s the story here. Each magnum includes a $250 donation to the Vida Valiente Foundation, which in partnership with Stanford University has already raised over a million dollars and fully funded tuition for 25 low-income students for all four years. Conceived by Susana Cueva Drumwright, philanthropist, tech executive, Napa Valley vintner and wife of Hayes Drumwright, who founded cult favorite Memento Mori, both the wine and the foundation were inspired by Susana’s experience growing up as a first-generation American daughter of a Mexican father and Guatemalan mother. The team has plans to expand the program beyond Stanford in the coming years. The 2019 The Movement™ was the first vintage for Vida Valiente, sourced from some of the most coveted sites of Napa Valley and helmed by 100-point winemaker Sam Kaplan. It is still pretty tightly wound — it took days, rather than hours, to open up to a lovely experience. It could rest for decades in magnum.

2020 Aperture Cabernet Sauvignon ($160)

A very young wine that is very approachable, this 2020 is velvety, elegant and very pretty, with loads of berry fruit. 2020 was a year that threatened many Napa vineyards with fire — and more than a third of Apertures grapes that year were declassified because of smoke taint. Founder & Winemaker Jesse Katz says this wine is is showing more fruit and tannin now, but will take on more tertiary notes and integrated tannins as they age. In fact, he recently enjoyed a magnum of their 2011 Aperture Cabernet Sauvignon, and declared it perfect after a four-hour decant. No matter what vintage you’re drinking, Katz recommends popping the cork and tasting every thirty minutes or so to see how it is evolving.

Caymus Napa Valley 2020 ($165)

This wine was incredibly approachable for being such a baby. Brambly, chocolatey, and very food friendly. It’s probably no surprise, as Chuck Wagner, co-founder of Caymus Vineyards, likes to say that “wines that taste good as aged wines are the same ones that taste good young,” and he personally likes to drink his wines upon release. Which is not to say that it doesn’t reward patience — when properly stored (55 degrees F, laying down of course), Caymus Cabernet has great aging potential. Grapes for this wine are farmed in a range of Napa’s sub-appellations – from Coombsville to Calistoga – with fruit from the valley floor creating lushness and the hillsides providing backbone. Call the winery directly for magnums.

JUSTIN 2019 Isosceles ($185)

At 16.1% alcohol, this muscular wine from Paso Robles is not to be trifled with. It’s 79 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with hits of Cabernet Franc and merlot, styled after famous First Growth producers of Bordeaux. Decant, and enjoy as it evolves in the glass, from tight blackberries to cherries and cedar. Or lay it down— as a large format bottle, it’s got decades ahead. JUSTIN Vineyard & Winery’s winemaker Scott Shirley notes that magnums that are the same vintage as a 750-ml. bottle would show more primary fruit, while the 750s would show more aged, savory characteristics.

Patrimony 2019 ($495)

This Cabernet Sauvignon (14.9% ABV) from Paso Robles starts out loaded with luscious blueberries then the heft of excellent structure kicks in. Patience is rewarded with some raspberry and strawberry at the end of the looooong finish. This one will please folks who love a giant California red while also appealing to those who prefer something softer.

2018 PlumpJack Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville ($750)

Co-founded by Gordon Getty and California Governor Gavin Newsom (with Newsom’s share currently in a blind trust), the Plumpjack portfolio has grown to include four wineries, each with their own distinct niche. If you want to impress a snob, go with Plumpjack —they even offer a 100-point magnum trio for a cool $5,500. Or you can pick up a single magnum of the 2018 — it’s a big bold wine that comes in it’s own box that is still very very intense. If you want a pretty wine made by the same team— at a more approachable price tag, grab the 2018 Adaptation. Sourced from a collection of prized and up-and-coming vineyards throughout Napa, it’s ripe with cherries and plums, with a bit of violet on the nose.

Joseph Phelps Insignia 2019 ($670)

Another winery with deep roots, so to speak — Joe Phelps created California’s first proprietary red Bordeaux-style blend back in 1974, and they’ve been perfecting it ever since. This wine does not play — it’s juicy and bold, with a perfume of tobacco, raspberries and perhaps a hint of roses. The palate is intense — the length of a single sip goes on forever. 2019 is the first vintage to include fruit from the new El Venedito vineyard.

2012 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon ($375)

Prefer something with a bit of age? This wine already has a decade in the bottle, which leaves it softer and plusher than some of the young guns on this list. Winemaker Chris Carpenter fermented the juice with native yeast in a combination of open- and closed-top stainless steel tanks before aging in mostly new French oak. Deep dark blackberries, chocolate and licorice make for a luxurious glass — decant with care. But if you’re patient, this Howell Mountain fruit has a few more decades up its sleeve.

St. Francis 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Lagomarsino Vineyard ($225)

For a festive gift, it’s hard to beat the beautiful etched bottles from this historic —and certified sustainable— Sonoma vineyard. They offer several that are crafted specifically for the holidays, but the ones with St. Francis himself etched on are available year-round. Sonoma wines tend to have softer tannins, making this wine, aged in French oak barrels — 60 percent new— more approachable right out of the bottle.

Stephanie Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 ($150)

Tucked in a surprisingly remote valley in Napa’s well-trodden wine country, with plenty of sun and well-drained soils, the vineyards that provide Stephanie Cabernet are sustainably farmed and completely solar powered. Owners Helen and Stanley Cheng, who also have partnered with Thomas Keller on a high-end cookware brand that is on sale for the holidays, named this wine after their only daughter. It is drinking well now, with a mix of savory herbs and black currant on the palate, but could age another five to seven years.