Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The most expensive offering is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. A classic Howell Mountain wine, it is tannic and backward with blueberry, blackberry and floral notes intermixed with lots of minerality as well as a boatload of tannin. This is a long-term wine so forget it for 3-4 years and drink it over the following two decades.
The highly respected Karen Culler is the winemaker for Ladera, who have produced a trifecta of delicious 2007s.
Rating: 93+ -
Wine Spectator
Still very tight and backward, exhibiting loamy earth, currant and dark berry flavors that show touches of cedar and tobacco, with an elegant and satisfying finish. True-to-form Howell Mountain Cabernet in a warm year. Drink now through 2021. 2,200 cases made.
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.