Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
In 2000 Pat and Ann Stotsbery bought the Chateau Woltner property and replanted it to Cabernet Sauvignon. The carefully tended young vines and gentle handling of a gravity flow winery make it pretty, while the altitude and soils of the site give it Howell Mountain heft and minerality. One of our tasters, who used to live in Angewin, responded immediately to the wine: "It tastes like the blackberries that grow in the thickets on Howell Mountain," he said. It's dramatic black juice with its fair share of alcohol, an earth '06 with the potential to charm. For the cellar.
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Wine & Spirits
In 2000 Pat and Ann Stotsbery bought the Chateau Woltner property and replanted it to Cabernet Sauvignon. The carefully tended young vines and gentle handling of a gravity flow winery make it pretty, while the altitude and soils of the site give it Howell Mountain heft and minerality. One of our tasters, who used to live in Angewin, responded immediately to the wine: "It tastes like the blackberries that grow in the thickets on Howell Mountain," he said. It's dramatic black juice with its fair share of alcohol, an earth '06 with the potential to charm. For the cellar.
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Wine Spectator
A tour de force Cabernet. Dense, plush, rich and concentrated, wall-to-wall flavors, with layers of black cherry, black currant, black licorice, mineral and graphite. Full-bodied and tightly wound with firm tannins, yet finishes with a mix of juicy berry and mineral flavors. Drink now through 2020. 3,000 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The star of this duo is the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, which offers up juicy notes of crushed rocks, flowers, dark berries, black currants, and earth. This elegant, medium to full-bodied Cabernet possesses both finesse and substance. Deep, pure, and rich with moderate tannins, it will benefit from 2-3 years of cellaring, and should drink well over the following 15 years.
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.