About Relic Wine Cellars
Relic Wine Cellars is named for the relic — the archaeological artifact or sacred object preserved from an earlier era because of its irreplaceable historical or spiritual value. Mike Hirby's Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon project declares wine as the relic that most directly connects us to a specific place and time: a bottle of Relic preserves the precise character of a Napa Valley vintage, the specific vineyard's character in a specific year, the winemaker's judgment about how to express that character without destroying it.
The estate focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon from carefully selected Napa Valley vineyard sources — historic sites, well-farmed blocks, places with a track record of producing wine worth preserving. The relic philosophy shapes the winemaking: decisions made to allow the wine to age gracefully rather than to perform immediately.
Wine Advocate has scored Relic's Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at 92–96 points, confirming that the archaeological-preservation philosophy produces wines genuinely worth aging.