Inside the Hidden World Where you can get The Declassified $150 Napa Cab for Under $50

Two Napa natives and longtime industry veterans joined together with one goal in mind: to hunt down some of the best wines and bring them to you at market-crushing prices.

Here’s a look inside how they do it.

Where do these wines come from?

A vineyard designate, 95 point, Caldwell Cabernet? A $125 Rutherford for $39 – also with 95 points?

Where do these wines come from you might wonder?

First, let’s back up…

What happens when a small “cult” producer ends up with 400 cases of juice instead of the 200 cases they planned to produce? 

Negociants aren’t new. but they come in many levels – and we’re aiming high.

The headline spell doom and gloom

Headlines haven’t been nice to the industry on so many fronts. And it’s true that many headwinds exist for producers. Gen Z isn’t drinking enough.

There’s a broader push to criminalize alcohol use and curb consumption. People aren’t as willing to pay $150 or more for a nice bottle. Record numbers of grapes “dropped” off the vine and unharvested.

The negociant wine business isn’t a new concept. In fact, a few have done it quite well. You know who they are. But we’re aiming higher.

The wine industry landscape is shifting. And in some cases, completely fracturing. Many won’t make wine this year. Most will cut production. The headlines report doom and gloom; “Gen Z doesn’t drink wine”, consumption is down, prices are too high.

But I still drink it. If you’re reading this, you probably do too. We like to drink good stuff made by great winemakers. Hillside Select or a Corton-Charlemagne on a Tuesday night? Sure, why not? Well…it’s too damn expensive for one.   

I can’t pay $100, $200 or $300+ to gain entry for the annual Grand Pritchard Hill Cabernet Experience.

But we’ve been in the industry for a long time, building connections and seeing how the bread is made.

And now, we’re coming out of the shadows with one goal in mind – finding insanely good wines and bring them to market at fair value. To do this, certain aspects need to remain hidden from plain view at times – vineyards, winemakers, wineries, and other details may remain hidden from plain sight.

These are, after all, our friends, neighbors, and compatriots in the industry. We need to look them in the face, you know.

But still, if you dig deep, you might figure it out.

And one thing is clear as day – everything we serve up will overdeliver.

Trust is everything

Mike routinely texts with customers and knows many on a first-name basis. Does your wine guy text you back?

Who finds these wines?

Archival was formed by a longtime friendship between Bobby Moy and Mike Meisner. Mike helped grow Last Bottle Wines during their formative years in 2014 onward, and remains stationed as CMO at Wine Spies under the “Agent Rhone” moniker.

Bobby has been making outstanding wines for a tight but loyal group of “in the know” consumers. His wines constantly outshine some of the best in the valley. A quick glance at Wineberserkers turns out countless testimonials to his skills as a winemaker under his Chiron label. Not a surprise given his menticulous attention to detail from the school of Thomas Rivers Brown winemaking

We value our relationships with our industry allies and in some cases, that means preserving the source under tighter conditions. Other times we get proudly showcase our collaboration. These wines represent some of the very best from our home in Napa and around the state.