People love to show us photos of their wine collections and tell us about their prize bottles. As far as job hazards go, it’s relatively pleasant, and while it may lack the thrills our colleague on the aviation desk experiences on a regular basis, at least we’re not risking life and limb to write a story. That said, it occasionally gets repetitive as new acquaintances zoom in on labels of DRC, Petrus, and Screaming Eagle to point out how many vintages they have amassed over the years. That’s why we both sat up and took notice when we started to hear the name Sam Kaplan from collectors as a winemaker they are keeping an eye on.
We first met the amiable Kaplan a few years back at an Auction Napa Valley dinner at Arkenstone, where he has worked since 2006 crafting estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Sauvignon Blanc—the last of which noted for its age-worthy style. Kaplan caught the attention of Memento Mori cofounder Adriel Lares when Lares won a case of magnums from Howell Mountain, where Arkenstone is located, at a fundraiser at Kaplan’s son’s nursery school. When Lares and partners Hayes Drumwright and Adam Craun were in the planning stages of what has since become one of Napa Valley’s hottest cult wines, they tapped Kaplan to head up winemaking.
Despite the high-flying prices of its top-tier bottles, Napa Valley still has a small-town feel, and connections like that between Kaplan and Lares are not uncommon. Jay Flatley, former CEO and chairman of Illumina, met Kaplan when he hired him to plant his personal vineyard at the same time that Kaplan was planting his own vines for Maxem, the Sonoma Coast project that he started in 2015 with his wife, Nancy. An avid wine collector with 10,000 bottles in his cellar, Flatley now has around 200 bottles of Kaplan’s wines on hand. He bought some of the first vintage of Maxem Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; he also has an affinity for Arkenstone, Memento Mori, and Vida Valiente, a joint project between the Kaplans and Drumwright and his wife, Susana Cueva Drumwright.
One of the most interesting features of Memento Mori is that despite Kaplan’s access to some of the best vineyard sites in Napa Valley—including Beckstoffer Dr. Crane, Beckstoffer Las Piedras, Oakville Ranch Vineyard, Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard, and Weitz Vineyards—its flagship Cabernet Sauvignon is an artful blend from those revered sites. Many insiders wondered why the team would pay for some of the most expensive fruit in the valley if they weren’t going to be able to include the vineyard name on the label, but Kaplan’s vision for Memento Mori has paid off. It has racked up several perfect scores over the years and made history in 2016 when a pair of wines he made from the 2014 harvest earned two of the top three bids (at $130,000 each) at Premiere Napa Valley, one of them being Memento Mori, which helped bring the winery, and Kaplan himself, to fame among collectors and wine-world cognoscenti. Like Memento Mori, Vida Valiente blends from top sites throughout Napa Valley, and $100 from every bottle goes to the winery’s Vida Valiente Foundation, which supports low-income, first-generation college students.
Rich Schaefer, head of global touring for AEG Presents, counts himself among the fans of Memento Mori and Maxem. He was introduced to Memento Mori when cofounder Adam Craun brought some bottles to a music festival Schaefer had put together. “We drank them at the festival that weekend and I was hooked," Schaefer says. Of the 2,800 bottles in his cellar, about 100 are Memento Mori and Maxem; he thinks that both Kaplan’s “Pinots and Cabs have an elegant feel and very complex finish." However, he shows his hand in his preference for Cabernet Sauvignon when he adds, “Very few things are better than a steak and bottle of Memento Mori."
One high-profile Silicon Valley executive told us he had “a dedicated Sam Kaplan zone in the cellar to hold verticals of all his wines." The exec was introduced to Memento Mori when Lares shared a bottle of the debut vintage at a dinner in San Francisco, and now the collector buys that label plus Maxem, Vida Valiente, and Arkenstone as soon as they are available. “I don’t miss a release," he tells Robb Report. “His wines are delicious—bold and vibrant with balance, complexity and sophistication."
Lest you think that Kaplan’s wines are hiding in cellars and you will never get your hands on a bottle, there are plenty of sommeliers and beverage directors at high-end restaurants who are happy to pour you a glass. Visitors to Napa Valley will find all four brands at the French Laundry. “I’ve never had anyone be disappointed that I’ve poured them one of Sam’s wines," says Andrew Adelson, the restaurant’s head sommelier. “They are always fun wines to share." At Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, California, director of beverage Michelle Morin Nishina pours all four brands as well, has hosted Sam Kaplan wine dinners and will be serving Memento Mori at a James Beard dinner series. At Montage Kapalua Bay in Maui, resort sommelier Richard P. Olson III stocks Kaplan’s Arkenstone and Maxem wine. “His style is about no manipulation and no hard edges," Olson says. “All the wines have lovely layers of both texture and fruit, with nothing overpowering."
