ADAMVS Teres Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
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2018-
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
Together, Denise and Stephen Adams have been farming Saint-Émilion’s Grand Cru Classé Château Fonplégade since 2004, earning the respect of their Bordelaise neighbors through the revitalization of the storied French estate. Denise and Stephen fell in love with the property that would become ADAMVS, in 2008. Though a diamond in the rough, their experience allowed them to recognize the site’s limitless potential for making world-class mountain wines. In its mosaic of five distinct soil types, ideal elevations, and diversity of vineyard exposures, they saw the perfect convergence of geology and geography.
To realize the estate's promise, and their goal of establishing a new benchmark for excellence on Howell Mountain, they gathered a team that includes viticulturist Giuseppe Tumbarello, general manager and winemaker Alberto Bianchi, and consulting biodynamic viticulturist Corinne Comme.
The Biodynamic farmed vineyard comprises 27 acres that are divided into ten small blocks on their 80-acre Howell Mountain estate, creating a rich tapestry of elements from which they craft their wines. To realize the complexity that defines the finest Cabernet Sauvignons, their estate ranges in elevation from 1,500 to 2,000 feet. Of their 27 planted acres, 25 are Cabernet Sauvignon, with nine hand-selected clones.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon is the star of this part of Napa’s rugged, eastern hills, but Zinfandel was responsible for giving the Howell Mountain growing area its original fame in the late 1800s.
Winemaking in Howell Mountain was abandoned during Prohibition, and wasn’t reawakened until the arrival of Randy Dunn, a talented winemaker famous for the success of Caymus in the 1970s and 1980s. In the early eighties, he set his sights on the Napa hills and subsequently astonished the wine world with a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Shortly thereafter Howell Mountain became officially recognized as the first sub-region of Napa Valley (1983).
With vineyards at 1,400 to 2,000 feet in elevation, they predominantly sit above the fog line but the days in Howell Mountain remain cooler than those in the heart of the valley, giving the grapes a bit more time on the vine.
The Howell Mountain AVA includes 1,000 acres of vineyards interspersed by forestlands in the Vaca Mountains. The soils, shallow and infertile with good drainage, are volcanic ash and red clay and produce highly concentrated berries with thick skins. The resulting wines are full of structure and potential to age.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah thrive in this sub-appellation, as well as its founding variety, Zinfandel.