With year on year increases for Californian Cabernet Sauvignon well outstripping those for French wines, (especially Burgundy and Bordeaux), more and more investors are looking for the next big thing when it comes to parting with their cash. Several blue-chip vineyards have made a name for themselves (Screaming Eagle obviously but Dominus and Colgin as well) but there are still many Napa Valley wineries producing exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon that are well worth our time and money. Kapcsandy Family Winery is one such place.

Created by Hungarian Lou Kapcsandy, this is a rags to riches story. Escaping Budapest in 1956, he arrived in the US without papers, money or even a word of English. After finding work in a bakery, he served for two years in the American army, and upon release, worked his way up the corporate ladder in Chemical Engineering. Phenomenally successful, upon his retirement in 1999 he declared that he had always been a francophile and wanted to open a little business importing his favourite Bordeaux’s into the US. However, men with ambition and vision do not stop being ambitious or visionary just because they have retired. In 2000, Lou and his wife Bobbie purchased the State Lane Vineyards in Yountville, Napa Valley, with the intent to make Cabernet Sauvignon for their personal consumption. Sadly, the vines were affected with phylloxera and had to be replanted in 2002, a huge undertaking that he did with the help of legendary winemaker Helen Turley and her husband John Wetlaufer. It would take another seven years before Kapcsandy wineries produced a wine that Lou deemed worthy of his name.

In 2005 Lou brought in winemaker Denis Malbec of Château Latour fame. This could be considered a turning point for Kapcsandy, and certainly when critics and consumers began to notice his exceptionally high-quality Cabernet Sauvignons. Equating his wines to those of Paulliac and Pomerol, wine guru Robert Parker sealed Kapcsandy’s deal when he named them as one of the top five wineries in Napa Valley. Additionally, low production (5,000 cases for the Grand Vin) and high scores (2013 received scores of 99 from Wine Advocate and 98 from Vinous) make Kapcsandy a viable contender when considering a fine wine portfolio.