Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
A step up in price over the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Saint Helena Estate is 95% Cabernet and 5% Petit Verdot and saw 75% new French oak. It has a distinct mineral and marine-like bloodiness as well as classic blackcurrant fruits, cedar, and tobacco-laced nuances, medium to full body, and ripe, present tannins. Drink it over the coming 10-15 years.
-
James Suckling
A very attractive red with blackberries, blueberries and hints of dark chocolate that follow through to a medium to full body, firm and lightly chewy tannins and a delicious finish. Drink now or hold.
-
Wine Spectator
Well-packed, featuring dark currant, plum and fig notes meshed with accents of loam and warm cocoa. The toasty finish has enough cut for balance. For fans of the muscular style. Best from 2021 through 2028. 480 cases made.
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.