Insane Value from a Napa Legend (We Just Can’t Say Who)

2023 Anonymous Wine Collective Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Elsewhere $90) ($19.95)

Aaron Hughes | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: October 30, 2025

I actually prefer writing these reviews before I know who made the wine—I feel like it gives me a thin layer of impartiality between myself and the product. That said, I will happily shill for these Anonymous Wine Collective wines all day long because every single one of them delivers tremendous value. It’s not that I’m “on your side,” my friends; it’s that I need to feel good about the wines I’m selling and reviewing to feel good about my work. This wine is no exception. I have no idea who made it, but I know that I really like it—especially at this price.

There’s plenty of pretty cherry, touches of blackberry compote, and a creamy quality to the fruit. The nose is incredibly pleasant and easygoing, almost as if the wine is promising that the palate will be num nums. On the palate, it has everything I want from Cabernet Sauvignon: depth, a hint of something inky, and enough acidity to keep a tug-of-war going between tannin grip and mouthwatering freshness. The fruit is layered, with darker tones giving way to cocoa and coffee from the barrel spice. The finish is moderate in length, ending with toasty oak and small flickers of fruit.

For $20, this is pretty amazing, and it’s going to land in a lot of hands looking for a medium-plus–bodied Cabernet Sauvignon that will absolutely complement a richly marbled steak and a big baked potato. Butter is not optional.

K&L Notes: The Anonymous Wine Collective project is all about giving people access to incredible wines at incredible prices. It means partnering with winemakers through upfront commitments to secure unique parcels, then getting them into bottle with as little wasted expense as possible. We cut out the middlemen. We don’t have a lavish tasting room to fund. We don’t have a six-figure marketing budget inflating bottle costs. We work directly with wineries to source great wines and bring them straight to you.

We protect our sources by keeping quiet about the vineyards or winemakers behind them, since our Anonymous bottlings often sell for a fraction of what these wines would cost under their original labels. This Napa Valley Cabernet is a perfect example. While I can’t reveal too much, I can say it was sourced entirely from a single mountain vineyard in the Pope Valley sub-AVA and crafted by a legendary winemaker with decades of experience at both First Growth châteaux in Bordeaux and top estates in Napa Valley.

In true house style, this wine marries old-world sensibility with broad, lush Napa fruit and firm mountain structure. The pricing for a Napa Cabernet of this quality is simply extraordinary. You can open this beauty any night of the week and feel great about it—one of the best values we’ve offered yet under the Anonymous label.