Region: Napa Valley, California

Vintage: 2022

Composition: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc

History: Fairest Creature. Proprietor Jayson Hu was born in Nanjing, China and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in his youth. He graduated from University of California Berkeley with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He discovered wine through his proximity to Napa Valley and over time realized that premium wines from Napa Valley could hold up against any of the top wines on the planet, including from Bordeaux. He began importing wines from select producers in Napa Valley to parts of China, and in a number of cases provided the first exposure for these particular brands in the China fine wine market.

Taking a winemaker first approach to premium wine, Jayson decided to focus on winemaker styles, backed by a portfolio of noteworthy Napa Valley vineyard sites including from St. Helena, Pritchard Hill, Oakville, Rutherford, Coombsville and Howell Mountain. Fairest Creature produces high octane yet deftly balanced wines carefully crafted by three of the most prominent Napa Valley winemakers including Philippe Melka, Benoit Touquette and Thomas Brown.

Tasting Notes: 

Offers an upfront, ripe, sexy profile of cassis, spring flowers, camphor, liquid violets, and hints of chocolate. This rich, full-bodied 2022 has a round, layered, seamless mouthfeel, ripe and velvety tannins, and remarkable purity. It doesn’t get much better in the vintage. Give bottles just a year or two and enjoy over the following 15.