Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An intense nose of foie gras. Full bodied, with round and soft silky tannins. The palate is rich, decadent, and packed with ripe fruit that goes on and on. This has a nice finish of stones, rusty nails, nuts, and warm soil. Wow. This is great right now, but will be better in three or four years. 15+25+23+34.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From Ann Colgin’s tiny vineyard treasure just off of Highway 29, north of St. Helena, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Tychson Hill Vineyard (225 cases produced) boasts an opaque blue/purple color as well as a refined and noble nose of charcoal, graphite, ink, blueberries, black currant liqueur, licorice, and cedarwood. Full-bodied with more tannin and structure than the Herb Lamb, this powerful, rich 2007 will benefit from 4-5 years of cellaring, and should keep for 30 or more years. 97+
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Wine Spectator
Broad, rich and layered, enticingly earthy and pleasantly herbal, with cedar, tobacco, mineral, graphite and sage setting the stage for a rich mix of dried currant and black licorice, at points chewy and rustic, with grainy tannins on the finish. Best from 2012 through 2021.
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.
St. Helena is in the heart of the Napa Valley, nestled between Calistoga to the north and Rutherford on its southern border. On its western side, the Mayacamas Mountains guard it from the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean; to its east stand the Vaca Mountains. In conjunction, these mountain ranges serve to lock in summer daytime heat. But in the evening, cool air from the San Pablo Bay funnels up through the valley, creating very chilly nights. It isn’t uncommon for temperatures to drop 50 degrees, a shift that promotes a balance of sugar ripeness and acidity in wine grapes.
St. Helena contains a plethora of different soil types in a small area, which have been enhanced over centuries by rain runoff from both mountain ranges. Its vineyards cover a variety of terrain, spreading across the bucolic valley floor and its benchlands.
These ideal topographic and climatic growing conditions easily caught the attention of early winemaking pioneers. In fact, St. Helena is the birthplace of Napa Valley’s commercial wine industry. Dr. Crane founded his cellar in 1859, David Fulton in 1860 and Charles Krug in 1861.
Today there are no less than 400 separate vineyards planted within the 12,000 acres that make up the St. Helena appellation.
Revered most for its red wines based on Bordeaux varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, the St. Helena appellation is also a source of superior Syrah, Zinfandel and Sauvignon blanc.