Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A juicy, fruit-driven wine, with loads of expressive boysenberry and mulberry notes backed by a liberal mix of dried anise, apple wood and sweet bay leaf. This has the racy, grippy combo of mountain fruit too, with nice length through the finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Value is the name of the game with the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon SMD, a 100% Spring Mountain Cabernet that spent 19 months in 56% new French oak. Tobacco, iron, peppery herbs, and jammy black and blue fruits all flow to a medium-bodied, round, supple, seamless beauty that’s prefect for drinking over the coming decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Drawn from the family's original vineyard planted in 1985, the 2019 SMD Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain offers up hints of bay leaf and sage, plus ample cassis fruit. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it lacks the richness of the Reserva, but it is a silky, elegant effort for drinking over the next decade or so.
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.
Above the town of St. Helena on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains sits the Spring Mountain District.
A dynamic region, its vineyards, cut by numerous springs and streams, vary in elevation, slope and aspect. Soils differ throughout with over 20 distinct types inside of the 8,600 acres that define the appellation. Within that area, only about 1,000 are planted to vineyards. Predominantly farmed by small, independent producers, the region currently has just over 30 wineries.
During the growing season, late afternoon Pacific Ocean breezes reach the Spring Mountain vineyards, which sit at between 400 and 1,200 feet. Daytime temperatures during mid summer and early fall remain slightly cooler than those of the valley floor.
Spring Mountain soils—volcanic matter and sedimentary rock—create intense but balanced reds with lush and delicate tannins. The area excels with Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot and in some cooler spots, Chardonnay.