Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
From old vines planted nearly 50 years ago, this wine opens in violet and rose. On the palate are seamless layers of cranberry and currant, with an underlying strength of integrated spice, dried herb and oak. Complex and concentrated, this wine is elegantly built to age and evolve, beautifully styled throughout. Enjoy best from 2028–2038
-
Wine Spectator
There's a savory sparkle here, with sweet bay leaf and violet notes darting from the core of damson plum, loganberry and mulberry fruit, while the sleek and refined structure supports it all. Long and pure through the finish, offering a subtle twang of iron and a nice finishing kick of fruit. The balance is superb, making this approachable now, but this is going to cruise in the cellar. Drink now through 2040. 600 cases made.
-
Wine & Spirits
Still relatively closed, the Kronos 2018 is a lean cabernet with bright, high-acid notes of red fruit. Its chocolate-rich tannins lend a dry, dusty savor to the finish. There’s concentration and intensity from the fruit of 50-year-old vines, built to age.
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.