Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Savory aromas of blackcurrants, cedar, tobacco leaves and mocha. The palate is full-bodied with firmly framed tannins and balanced acidity, giving notes of blackberry bush, bark, graphite, licorice and spices. Layered black fruit has been finely integrated with a powerful undertone. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Absolutely textbook Howell Mountain notes of darker currants, black cherries, chocolate, bouquet garni, and leafy, herbal, forest notes all shine in Cade's 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, a medium to full-bodied, ripe, nicely concentrated 2022 that has integrated tannins and acidity, terrific overall balance, and outstanding length. As opposed to many 2022s, this has solid underlying structure and depth and is a rock-solid beauty that will evolve nicely over the coming 10-12 years or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There are 9,000 cases of Cade's 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate, a reasonable volume for Howell Mountain. Classic hints of pine needles and resiny notes accent blueberry fruit on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is richly textured and concentrated, framed by grainy tannins on the long, dark chocolate-tinged finish.
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.