Winemaker Notes
Generous aromas of boysenberry, black cherry and fig accented with earthy notes. Robust, concentrated flavors on the palate, the wine offers blackberry and boysenberry notes layered with hints of minerality. Structured and opulent tannins fill the palate with a deep, powerful black fruit finish. Dancing Bear, despite its intensity, displays a charming elegance. Delicious upon release but will more than reward another decade of aging. Enjoy with rosemary braised lamb shanks, filet mignon, or grilled portabello mushrooms.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Dancing Bear Ranch is composed of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out of the gate with bold crème de cassis, blackberry pie and plum preserves scents, followed by touches of star anise, bouquet garni and tar with a waft of crushed rocks. Full-bodied and packed with juicy black fruits, the palate is beautifully framed by plush tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with loads of fragrant earth and exotic spice accents. Rating: 97+
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James Suckling
A concentrated cabernet with aromas of baked blackberries, dark cherries, chocolate, coffee, toast and sweet spices. Full body with firm, creamy tannins. Rich and chewy. A blend of 98% cabernet sauvignon and 2% cabernet franc. Drink or hold.
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.