Fortunate Son house spotlight
Jayson Woodbridge, winemaker of Fortunate Son and Hundred Acre, at The Ring cellar. Same hand as this Dreamer Cabernet.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2022 Fortunate Son The Dreamer Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $154.63 and the average is $175.77. Our slash is $154.00.
2022 Fortunate Son The Dreamer Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, USA
Jayson Woodbridge's Napa Cabernet, toasted almond and plum, James Suckling 97 at one hundred fifty-five dollars.
The 2022 Dreamer is 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 months in 100 percent new French oak, James Suckling 97 and Decanter 97, now $154.
A 97-point Napa Cabernet from the Hundred Acre cellar
The Dreamer is Fortunate Son's straight Cabernet. Same Woodbridge sorting, same three-year-dried French oak, 35 months in barrel. James Suckling 97, Decanter 97. This is the proof that his Napa Cabernet does not only live on a wait list.
The house
Woodbridge weaves small family vineyards, some 80 years old, into Fortunate Son. The Dreamer is the Cabernet bottle.
The wine
100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Puncheon fermented. 35 months in 100 percent new French oak.
The scores
James Suckling 97: blackberry, black cherry, lead pencil, thyme, sage, velvety tannin. Decanter 97. Jeb Dunnuck 93.
The table
Short ribs or mushroom risotto. Serve near 64 F. Drink now or hold.
Almond, plum, and a granite line
The house writes toasted almond, plum, ripe fig, crushed granite, dark chocolate, dried herbs, and leather. James Suckling: blackberry and black cherry, lead pencil, smoky thyme and sage, round juicy tannins. Decanter filled the mouth with dark cherry, raspberry, leather, tobacco, and cocoa nibs. Drink now or hold.
A long hang after winter rain. Woodbridge pushed ripening to the limit. The 2022 Dreamer is full-bodied Cabernet that is already open.
Toasted almond, plum, fig, granite, dark chocolate, thyme, sage, leather.
Velvety tannin, 100% Cabernet, 35 months 100% new French oak.
Long, savory. Serve near 64 F. A short decant.
One grape, thirty-five months in new oak
The Dreamer is 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. No Merlot to soften the edges. Puncheon ferment, then 35 months in 100 percent new French barrique with ultra-tight grain, air-dried three years. That is the Hundred Acre oak program on a Fortunate Son label.
Fruit comes from small family Napa vineyards Woodbridge has farmed by the acre, some of them 80-plus years old. The 2022 is savory as much as it is sweet: thyme, sage, lead pencil, then dark cherry.
Serve near 64 F. A short decant. Drink now through 2037.
The Cabernet in the Fortunate Son set
Diplomat is the claret. Dreamer is the Cabernet.
Fortunate Son relaunched in 2018 as Woodbridge's second Napa house. The Dreamer is the Cabernet Sauvignon in that set, named for the men who ask why not.
The 2018 and 2019 wines were made at Hundred Acre's Ring. Later vintages moved to David Fulton. The 2022 Dreamer is that later cellar.
Blue label, 2022 in gold, Einstein on the paper. The glass etch is the house signature.
Short ribs, then a pan of risotto
A velvety Napa Cabernet wants braised short rib and wild mushroom risotto, not a thin cut.
Two plates. One short rib. One mushroom risotto. Both can take plum, chocolate, and sage.
Serve near 64 F. A short decant. A Cabernet glass.
Red wine braised short ribs
Slow braise, polenta, dark gravy. Cabernet tannin meets the bone.
Why it works: Short-rib fat and cocoa in the wine lock together. Thyme on the plate echoes sage in the glass.
View Recipe for red wine braised short ribs (opens in a new tab)
Wild mushroom risotto
Thyme, chanterelles, a creamy pan. Earth for a savory Cabernet.
Why it works: Mushroom and granite in the wine are the same conversation. Cream lets the tannin stay polite.
View Recipe for mushroom risotto (opens in a new tab)Open the Dreamer Cabernet tonight
One hundred percent Cabernet. James Suckling 97. Toasted almond, plum, one hundred fifty-five dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is Woodbridge Cabernet you can drink without a wait list.
