Bonanza spotlight
The market on this bottle
Lot 1 has no vintage year, so a vintage price check does not lock to it. A confirmed 1-liter shelf price is $34.97. The shop bottle is the same 1-liter Lot 1, at $35. No named critic score is attached.
Napa Valley Cabernet • 1 Liter
Bonanza The Vinekeeper Lot 1 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA, 1L
Chuck Wagner's Napa Cabernet in the liter bottle, Lot 1, thirty-five dollars.
Bonanza started in 2019 as Chuck Wagner looked past the usual vineyard list. The Vinekeeper is the Napa chapter, and Lot 1 is the debut. The label has no year. This bottle holds 1 liter. The price is $35.
Napa fruit, liter bottle, no vintage on the label
The original Bonanza Cabernet is a California appellation. The Vinekeeper is the one that says Napa Valley. Lot 1 is the first of that series, and the front label does not print a year. The bottle in the shop is 1 liter, glass, natural cork. Twenty-seven bottles are $35 each.
Cocoa, oak, cinnamon, fine tannins
The winemaker note, carried on the trade listings for this wine: beautifully balanced, rich, fruit-driven, round and ripe. Scents and flavors of pomace, oak, and cocoa powder, with a subtle hint of cinnamon. Brightness, firm acidity, and fine tannins that you can feel. A separate California Bonanza note is not used here. This page stays with the Vinekeeper note.
Chuck Wagner. Napa Cabernet. Lot 1.
Chuck Wagner started Bonanza Cabernet in 2019, looking at vineyard sites off the usual path. The Vinekeeper series is meant to change regions over time. This debut is Napa Valley. The label calls it Cabernet Sauvignon. No blend sheet or barrel time is published for Lot 1, so none is invented here. Alcohol figures in the trade disagree, so alcohol is left off. The closure is natural cork. The size is 1 liter.
The Wagner family, after Caymus.
Chuck Wagner and his parents opened Caymus Vineyards in Rutherford in 1972. Bonanza is the later Cabernet, built so more people could drink the style at the table. The Vinekeeper label is the engraved valley, the figure in the vineyard, and the words Lot 1 at the lower left. Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the only appellation on this bottle.
Lamb chops. A pepper-crusted roast.
A Napa Cabernet with cocoa and fine tannins wants a crust of fat and a little char. The winery note does not name a dish. These two are the plates.
Grilled lamb chops
Lamb rib chops, salt, olive oil, a two-zone grill. The picture matches the cut.
Why it works: Fine tannins and cocoa sit down next to rendered lamb fat.
View Recipe for grilled lamb chops (opens in a new tab)
Prime rib
The picture is a pepper-crusted roast with carrots. This recipe is a prime rib, the same cut of beef taken further.
Why it works: Ripe Cabernet and a long roast share the same kind of sweetness.
View Recipe for prime rib (opens in a new tab)Thirty-five dollars. Napa. One liter.
Chuck Wagner. Lot 1. Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The 1-liter bottle is $35.
Twenty-seven bottles are in the shop. Pull one for lamb chops, or take twelve and let the shipping ride.
