Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is a similar clonal mix to previous vintages: old vine 7, old vine 337, and young vine 7. We have come to rely on the bright, red-fruited clone 337 to complement the intensity of clone 7. However, the preponderance of red fruit in all lots meant the final blend required less 337 to shine. We’re pleased to offer a Melanson Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon that doesn’t demand great patience to thoroughly enjoy.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Even better, I suspect the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon might be a candidate for the wine of the vintage with 4-5 years of bottle age. From a vineyard on Pritchard Hill, just across from Colgin, and 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, this inky colored beauty offers loads of blueberry and blackcurrant liqueur-like fruits as well as lots of spice, flowery incense, and subtle herbal undertones. Textbook Cabernet on the nose, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, building tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and a great, great finish. It’s one of the few wines in the vintage that comes close to rivaling its 2015 and 2016 counterparts. The cellar will be your friend on this one, though, and a good 4-6 years of bottle age are warranted.
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.