Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
This estate makes one of the most serious and age-worthy Sauvignon Blancs in Napa Valley, and their 2016 Estate Sauvignon Blanc doesn’t disappoint. Including 7% Semillon and aged in a mix of concrete eggs and new and used French oak, it offers deep, rich notes of white grapefruit, peach, and crushed lime. With medium to full body, good acidity, and terrific depth of fruit, it’s capable of lasting for 10-15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 93% Sauvignon Blanc and 7% Sémillon that spent 11 months sur lie, the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc Estate opens with scents of white peaches, ripe pears, lemon tart and lime blossoms with hints of chalk dust, struck match and bay leaves. Medium-bodied, the palate is laden with citrusy freshness with a lovely yeasty undercurrent and a long mineral-tinged finish.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
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.