Darioush Signature Cabernet Sauvignon: Vintages, Blends and Prices in 2026

The Darioush Signature Cabernet Sauvignon is the flagship of Darioush, the winery Darioush and Shahpar Khaledi founded on the Silverado Trail in southern Napa Valley. It comes mostly from the family's own vineyards on the valley floor, on Mount Veeder and in Coombsville, with some fruit from Spring Mountain (2023 fact sheet). The first vintage was the 1997.

Below is what the winery has published about the family, the vineyards and each recent vintage, and what the wine sells for today in shops, at auction and on restaurant lists. Every blend figure comes from Darioush's own fact sheets. The prices come from Wine Labs data collected on November 4, 2026.

Darioush Signature Cabernet at a glance

The family

Darioush Khaledi was born and raised in Iran and trained as a civil engineer. After moving to the United States he built what the winery calls the largest family-owned grocery business in California. He and his wife, Shahpar, founded Darioush in 1998, and their daughter Sally is gradually taking over the running of the winery (Darioush Khaledi). All three are listed as proprietors (Darioush family).

The founding year and the first vintage don't line up neatly. The winery dates its founding to 1998, but its first Signature Cabernet was the 1997, released in spring 2000. Half of that wine came from the estate, with the rest from Yountville, Diamond Mountain and Rutherford (1997 fact sheet). The winery called the 2021 its 25th anniversary vintage (2021 fact sheet).

Who makes the wine

Steve Devitt was the founding winemaker, and a Darioush vineyard carries his name (Darioush winemaking). He is the winemaker on the 2015 and 2016 sheets. The 2017 sheet names Hope Goldie and Devitt together, and Goldie is the winemaker on every sheet from 2018 to 2023, with the title Director of Winemaking on the 2019 (2019 fact sheet). Michael Tracy is now Vice President, Winemaking (Darioush family). The winery does not say when he took over.

Where the fruit comes from

Darioush farms several sites in southern Napa (Darioush winemaking):

• The 25-acre Darioush Estate around the winery, mainly Forward loam with some Hambright.
• Sage Vineyard on Mount Veeder, 22 acres at 1,850 to 2,080 feet.
• Salumeh Vineyard in Coombsville, 12 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
• Rahmat Vineyard, 20 acres with seven of Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced since 2021.
• Devitt Vineyard, on Bale loam and Bale clay loam, certified organic since 2006.

The mix changes with the year. In 2017 the winery lost much of its mountain fruit, and the wine leaned on the estate south of Stags Leap (2017 fact sheet). The 2022 and 2023 sheets list the estate vineyards in Napa Valley, Mount Veeder, Coombsville and Yountville, plus fruit from Spring Mountain.

Signature vintages and blends

The blend moves a lot. Four of the last six vintages were 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2017 and 2021 had 20% Merlot, and the 2015 and 2016 used five different grapes.

201581%

201683%

201776%

2018100%

2019100%

202092%

202178%

2022100%

2023100%

Share of each grape, from Darioush's fact sheets for the 2015 to 2023 vintages.

Vintage	Cabernet Sauvignon	Merlot	Cabernet Franc	Malbec	Petit Verdot
2015	81%	10%	2%	5%	2%
2016	83%	6%	7%	2%	2%
2017	76%	20%	0%	2%	2%
2018	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%
2019	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%
2020	92%	8%	0%	0%	0%
2021	78%	20%	0%	0%	2%
2022	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%
2023	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%

The oak has eased slightly: 22 months with 85% new barrels through 2019, then 21 months with 75% new from 2020. The 2020 was a short crop of 4,150 cases, which the sheet puts down to limited yields. The 1997 was 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, at 13.5% alcohol. The 2015 and 2016 sheets list release prices of $105 and $112 a bottle.

What Darioush Signature Cabernet costs today

On November 4, 2026, 494 sellers had the wine on offer in a 750 ml bottle. Nearly all are in the US (476 sellers), with three each in Belgium, Japan, Canada and Mexico. Half of all offers sit between $132 and $170, and the median is $147.

AuctionMedian of 387 sales, buyer's premium included$81

ShopsMedian of 494 sellers, all vintages$147

RestaurantsMedian of 432 wine lists$262

Per 750 ml bottle, US dollars, November 2026. Darioush shows no current-vintage price online.

Channel	Price	Basis
Auction	$81	Median of 387 sales, buyer's premium included
Shops	$147	Median of 494 sellers, all vintages
Restaurants	$262	Median of 432 wine lists

These three prices don't measure the same thing. Shop prices mix recent vintages. Auction prices are what one lot sold for, with the buyer's premium but before shipping, tax and storage. A restaurant price includes service. Darioush shows no price for the current vintage on its website, so we leave the winery out.

By vintage, shops ask a median of $140 for the 2021 and 2023, $145 for the 2022 and $164 to $170 for the 2017 to 2019. At auction the same vintages sold for a median of $82 to $99.

$0$50$100$150$200

2017$82$164

2018$98$164

2019$94$170

2021$88$140

2022$99$145

Medians per 750 ml. Vintages with at least five shop sellers and five auction sales.

Vintage	Shop median	Auction median
2017	$164	$82
2018	$164	$98
2019	$170	$94
2021	$140	$88
2022	$145	$99

We leave a cell empty when fewer than five sellers or five sales stand behind it. Per-vintage shop figures leave out stores whose listings do not state a reliable vintage.

At auction

We have 387 Darioush Signature sales with a recorded price, at 19 auction houses, from March 2004 to November 2026. Spectrum Wine Auctions (89 lots), Acker Merrall Condit (75) and K&L Wines (72) account for the most. The 1997, the first vintage, has five recorded sales with a median of $80.

The yearly median has moved between $59 and $91 since 2016, and has been $82 in both 2025 and 2026.

All vintages, per 750 ml, buyer's premium included. 2026 runs to November 1.

Year	Median	Sales
2016	$59	5 sales
2017	$81	11 sales
2018	$62	8 sales
2019	$62	15 sales
2020	$85	26 sales
2021	$68	28 sales
2022	$85	42 sales
2023	$91	49 sales
2024	$88	39 sales
2025	$82	70 sales
2026	$82	71 sales

On restaurant lists

The wine is on 432 restaurant wine lists in our data, nearly all in the US, collected between February 2025 and November 2026. The median list price is $262 a bottle, and half the lists price it between $206 and $315.

Signature Cabernet in the Darioush range

Darioush makes a Signature line across several grapes, plus the Caravan Cabernet and the Darius II Cabernet. These are the ones with the most sellers in our data, all vintages together.

Darius II has the highest shop median in the range, $412.

Buying Darioush Signature Cabernet

Darioush sells current releases through its online shop and its First Offering membership. Older vintages, back to the 1997, turn up at auction.

See all Darioush wines on the Darioush producer page. See live prices and auction history in Wine Labs market data.

Data methodology: Wine Labs data, November 4, 2026, for "Darioush Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley". Shop prices are live 750 ml offers from online merchants and wine shops, one price per seller per vintage (the lowest), with each chain counted once, and with multi-bottle packs and the winery's own shop left out. Auction prices are sold lots with a recorded result, buyer's premium included, per 750 ml bottle, with mixed lots and flagged outliers left out. Restaurant prices are one bottle price per restaurant. All prices in US dollars. Blends, oak and case counts are from Darioush's fact sheets, linked above.