Fortunate Son house spotlight
Jayson Woodbridge, winemaker of Fortunate Son and Hundred Acre, at The Ring cellar. Same hand as this Diplomat.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2022 Fortunate Son The Diplomat Napa Valley across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $140.09 and the average is $171.81. Our slash is $140.00.
2022 Fortunate Son The Diplomat Napa Valley, USA
Jayson Woodbridge's 21st century Napa claret, James Suckling 97, dark cocoa and strawberry at one hundred forty dollars.
The 2022 Diplomat is 63 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 33 percent Merlot, and 4 percent Petite Sirah, 35 months in 100 percent new French oak, James Suckling 97 and Decanter 97, now $140.
Hundred Acre standards, a claret you can actually open
Jayson Woodbridge built Fortunate Son the way he built Hundred Acre: berry by berry, then 35 months in new French oak. The 2022 Diplomat is his 21st century Napa claret, Cabernet with a real dollop of Merlot, James Suckling 97. This is the proof you do not need a six-year Hundred Acre wait list to drink his cellar.
The house
Jayson Woodbridge of Hundred Acre revived Fortunate Son at the historic David Fulton ranch in St. Helena. Same sorting, same oak, a different name on the glass.
The wine
63 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 33 percent Merlot, 4 percent Petite Sirah. Puncheon fermented. 35 months in 100 percent new French oak. 15.5% ABV.
The scores
James Suckling 97. Decanter 97. Jeb Dunnuck 93. Dark berry, graphite, stone, creamy tannin, drink or hold.
The table
Ribeye or lamb chops. Serve near 64 F. A short decant. This is a dinner bottle, not a speech.
Cocoa, strawberry, and a silken line
The house writes dark cocoa, fresh-cut strawberry, vanilla bean, candied almond, pie crust, rose petal, cedar, and peppermint. James Suckling called the 2022 dark berry with graphite and stone, medium-bodied, creamy tannins, succulent and long. Decanter 97. Drink or hold.
Winter rain, a long hang, then a late-season rinse. Woodbridge hung fruit longer than most. The 2022 Diplomat is intense fruit on a full-bodied core, already drinkable.
Dark cocoa, strawberry, vanilla bean, rose, cedar, peppermint, graphite.
Silken tannin, 35 months 100% new French oak, 15.5% ABV, Cabernet-Merlot frame.
Juicy, long. Serve near 64 F. A short decant.
Puncheons, then thirty-five months in new French oak
Fortunate Son is made to Hundred Acre standards: hand-sorted, berry by berry, then new French oak with stave wood air-dried three years. The 2022 Diplomat was puncheon fermented and spent 35 months in 100 percent new barrique. That is how Woodbridge gets cream without burying the fruit.
The blend is 63 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 33 percent Merlot, 4 percent Petite Sirah from small family vineyards, some of them 80 years old. Merlot keeps the claret idea. Petite Sirah is a dash of depth.
Serve near 64 F. A short decant. Drink now through 2037.
From Hundred Acre to David Fulton
Woodbridge named it Fortunate Son. Then he bought one of Napa's oldest ranches to make it.
Jayson Woodbridge came from Canadian banking, taught himself wine, and stacked 100-point Hundred Acre Cabernets. Fortunate Son is the sister label: same obsession, family vineyards woven together.
He and Helen bought the historic David Fulton ranch on Fulton Lane in St. Helena. 2021 was the first vintage made there. The 2022 Diplomat is that cellar in a claret blend.
The glass still carries a house quote etched in the bottle. The paper label is purple, 2022, The Diplomat.
Ribeye first, then lamb on the grill
A silken Napa claret wants a hard sear on ribeye, then lamb chops with mint. Not a light salad.
Two plates. One ribeye. One rack of lamb chops. Both can take cocoa, strawberry, and cedar.
Serve near 64 F. A short decant. A Bordeaux glass.
Pan-seared ribeye
Hard brown crust, herb butter, roasted potatoes. The steak that a 97-point claret was built for.
Why it works: Ribeye fat matches 35 months of new oak while Cabernet tannin cuts the crust.
View Recipe for pan-seared steaks (opens in a new tab)
Grilled lamb chops
Mint, char, roasted carrots. Merlot in the blend loves lamb.
Why it works: Lamb fat and mint echo rose petal and cedar. The claret stays upright.
View Recipe for Gordon Ramsay lamb chops (opens in a new tab)Open Woodbridge's Diplomat tonight
James Suckling 97. Decanter 97. Dark cocoa, strawberry, one hundred forty dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is Hundred Acre discipline without the Hundred Acre wait.
