Cerro Red Wine Napa Valley 2018

When we first featured the delectable, inaugural 2018 vintage of Cerro Cabernet Sauvignon in our Under the Radar club last fall, we knew it was deserving of the spotlight, but little did we know we had found a sleeper hit. Credit goes to Cerro winemaker/owner Derek Beitler who had conjured up such an Oscar-worthy combination of impeccable fruit sources, winemaking prowess, and crowd-pleasing flavor profile. Our switchboards were lighting up, and our email inboxes were full of reorders. So, when we heard he had another new wine, an intoxicating red blend, from this same stellar vintage, we knew we had discovered another matinée idol. Don’t think of it as a sequel; this red wine is more like a companion piece, part of a box set that you will want to continue collecting!

Derek’s family history is richly steeped in grape growing and winemaking. His uncle, Charlie Wagner, founded the legendary Caymus Vineyards in Rutherford in 1972. The family has continued to roll out premium brands with a nationwide appeal, including Belle Glos, Mer Soleil, and Conundrum. In addition, Derek’s brother Kurt Beitler has his own boutique label, Bohème (another one of ACME’s favorites year to year!), and his cousins Joey & Charlie Wagner have also made their own names in the wine business with Quilt and Elouan. After graduating from the University of Oregon in his home state, Derek moved to Sonoma County and then to Napa Valley, where he founded Carne Humana with Joey in 2010. Carne Humana continues to thrive, growing from a small production endeavor to a wine label with larger aspirations. But Derek still harbors an intense passion for his smaller, more intimate projects, such as Bodega Rancho, Skyhook, and Cerro, which allow him to tinker and innovate. And thanks to long-standing familial connections here in the Napa Valley, Derek has access to fruit from some of the most sought-after vineyards in the region. 

For his debut 2018 Red Wine, Derek sourced fruit from vineyards located in warmer Calistoga, Rutherford’s famous red dusty soils, and from the cooler Oak Knoll District between Yountville and the city of Napa. The nuanced interplay of microclimate and soil diversity between these three sites lends a harmonious balance to this structured, layered wine. Cerro Red Wine is a rustic and brawny blend comprised of 55% Petit Verdot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Petite Sirah that is crafted in a polished, New World style. Heady aromas of brambly blackberry and exotic spices unfurl from the dark core of the glass. On the palate, weighty and intense flavors of juicy black cherry and ripe plum are framed by the fine tannin structure that is the hallmark of both Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah. Pair this wine with grilled meats at a Father’s Day backyard barbecue, and you’ll see why we thought Cerro was worthy of an Under the Radar double feature!