Justin Willett built his reputation on cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at Tyler and Lieu Dit, so Ad Ripa, his Cabernet-focused project, came as a surprise. The fruit is sourced from Happy Canyon Vineyard and China Blue Vineyard, the two flagship sites of the Happy Canyon AVA at the warm eastern edge of the Santa Ynez Valley. Twenty-two months in French oak (50% new), then bottled unfined and unfiltered. This is not a Napa-style Cab. It’s medium-bodied, red-fruited, and built on Willett’s signature restraint, hewing closer to old-school Bordeaux than the new-world plush.