Winemaker Notes
The wine has aromas of cherry, strawberry jam, raspberry coulis, vanilla, cedar, cassis, coffee, chocolate, and a touch of mint. In the palate the wine has a velvety rich mouthfeel with rounded yet robust tannins and structure. There are flavors of toasted pecans, baking spices, blueberry pie, chocolate covered strawberries, anise, graham cracker, and tarragon. This wine is a blend of the best of the vintage and the best Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot from our Estate.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, which is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (and finished with a screwcap), cuts a broader swath even than the regular bottling, shows sightly sweeter tannin, perhaps more ripeness, but is plush, voluptuously textured, deep, full-bodied and impressively endowed. There is no reason to defer gratification, as this wine is already singing and expressive. Drink it over the next 15 or so years.
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Wine Spectator
Balanced, deep, pure and precise, with a firm core of red and dark berry flavors and shades of mocha and cedar. For all that immediate appeal, there's also a wonderful sense of harmony and finesse that builds and lingers through the long finish. Best from 2019 through 2029.
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James Suckling
Lots of blackberry, black-licorice and walnut aromas follow through to a full body, chewy and rich tannins and a savory finish.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
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.