In 1995 and 1996, the debut releases from Araujo Estate, Bryant Family, Colgin Cellars, Harlan Estate, and Screaming Eagle announced the beginning of the ”Cult Cabernet” phenomenon. These bottlings became famous by showcasing a new, distinctly modern-styled Napa Valley wine and made stars out of viticulturalists and winemakers like Heidi Barrett, David Abreu and Michel Rolland. The cults were ripe, powerful wines unshackled by loyalty to “old world” winemaking and they set themselves apart from both the wineries that put Napa Valley on the map and the legendary First Growths of Bordeaux.

Because of their ripeness, the cult Cabernets could more often be enjoyed in their youth, making it easier for them to appeal to neophyte wine lovers and longtime collectors alike. The flashiness of the wines brought acclaim from critics, and the 100 point scores amplified the demand for the few bottles produced.

Cult wineries like Screaming Eagle sold most of their wine through a private mailing list, which made it incredibly rare to see bottles in the wild, and even rarer still to be one of the lucky few to get to taste the wine. The combination of mystery and scarcity cultivated by these estates was employed to masterful effect as demand grew and prices soared.

Over 20 years after it began, the cult Cabernet “revolution” continues with a combination of many of the original players still going strong and the emergence of several new wineries hoping to join the ranks of Napa Valley’s most elite Cabernet bottlings.