Winemaker Notes
This Cabernet Sauvignon embodies the character of the historic St. Helena sub-appellation of the Napa Valley, which has produced some of the world’s most sought after wines. Only the four highest quality vineyard blocks are selected from the Estate Vineyard to craft a wine with a true sense of place as a representation of vineyard and vintage.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Revana Estate Vineyard comes from a 9-acre vineyard outside of St. Helena that was planted by Jim Barber over 25 years ago. It’s another impossible to resist Cabernet from this label that’s loaded with plum and darker berry fruits as well as notes of chocolate, tobacco leaf, and cedarwood. Medium to full-bodied, balanced, and textured, it’s a beauty. Drink bottles over the coming 15 years or more.
-
Wine Spectator
A bright, juicy and engaging style, with a burst of raspberry, red currant and boysenberry compote flavors up front, followed by licorice root, sweet spice and mocha accents through the finish. Shows brambly energy from beginning to end. Best from 2022 through 2036.
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.