Winemaker Notes
The 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet emerges from the glass with aromas of mulberry and blackcurrants, complicated by a Howell Mountain garrigue of bay laurel, pine resin, madrone blossom, manzanita flowers, and fennel flowers, plus notes of lavender, tarragon, and jasmine tea. Baking spices like nutmeg and clove are here too, with savory cured meat tones. On the palate the wine has wonderful fullness and firm tannin that is accentuated by buttressing acidity. While you can enjoy it now, this wine is still in its infancy and will develop for two decades, possibly more.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a bruiser. Inky dark fruit, gravel, licorice and lavender all saturate the pallet. Bold and punchy, the 2021 is so well-balanced for a young wine. I cant wait to see how it ages.
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Wine Spectator
A textbook '21, with succulent and vivid boysenberry and blackberry fruit streaming along. Anise and apple wood, plus a fresh savory edge, add detail and range through the nicely defined finish. Drink now through 2036.
Ink Grade, Howell Mountain’s first monopole estate, produces the appellation’s greatest classical wines. The estate vineyard was first planted with vines in the 1870s by visionary pioneer, Theron Ink. Farmed organically and biodynamically since its inception and spanning eight hundred wild acres, our Estate is dotted with vine plantings that nurture and respect the natural habitat. Among the steeply terraced vineyards that cling to the iron-rich volcanic soils, there is a wild purity and raw tension here that awakens the senses. Winemaker Matt Taylor, formerly of Araujo Estate and Domaine Dujac, captures this untamed nature and preserves it by producing elegant, single-estate wines that express the pristine mountain fruit and legacy of the land. To do so requires patience and presence, taking the time to listen to what a place has to say and what it will give. This is an art. This is Ink Grade.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.