Robert Craig Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
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Blend: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petite Verdot
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain comes from an elevation of nearly 2,300 feet, from a vineyard planted in red volcanic, rocky soils. Rich, full-bodied, and possibly the star of an impressive line-up of wines, this is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot. Strikingly rich, opaque purple in color, with mulberry, boysenberry, blackberry, graphite and flowers, the wine is rich, chewy, full-bodied, multi-layered, and just a sensational example of Howell Mountain. Sadly, most Napa Howell Mountain Cabernets of this quality sell for $200-plus, but this one is available for under $100, which is to the credit of the folks at Robert Craig. This is 25- to 30-year wine, although there’s no harm in drinking it sooner.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2014 Robert Craig Howell Mountain Cabernet is coming along nicely in the bottle. A little time has increased its richness and complexity. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits bright red and blue fruits in its aromas and flavors. Pair it with a savory lamb stew over jasmine rice. (Tasted: February 20, 2020, Yountville, CA)
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James Suckling
Aromas of roses, blackcurrants and hints of vanilla beans. Full-bodied yet tight and dense. Big and rich wine but shows intensity. Lively finish. Drink in 2019.
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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.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon is the star of this part of Napa’s rugged, eastern hills, but Zinfandel was responsible for giving the Howell Mountain growing area its original fame in the late 1800s.
Winemaking in Howell Mountain was abandoned during Prohibition, and wasn’t reawakened until the arrival of Randy Dunn, a talented winemaker famous for the success of Caymus in the 1970s and 1980s. In the early eighties, he set his sights on the Napa hills and subsequently astonished the wine world with a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Shortly thereafter Howell Mountain became officially recognized as the first sub-region of Napa Valley (1983).
With vineyards at 1,400 to 2,000 feet in elevation, they predominantly sit above the fog line but the days in Howell Mountain remain cooler than those in the heart of the valley, giving the grapes a bit more time on the vine.
The Howell Mountain AVA includes 1,000 acres of vineyards interspersed by forestlands in the Vaca Mountains. The soils, shallow and infertile with good drainage, are volcanic ash and red clay and produce highly concentrated berries with thick skins. The resulting wines are full of structure and potential to age.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah thrive in this sub-appellation, as well as its founding variety, Zinfandel.