Winemaker Notes
Aroma: Howell Mountain's wild reaches come through in concentrated black raspberry fruit, mountain lilac, ground white/black pepper, and a touch of anisette and rose petals.
Flavors: Gorgeous wild berry fruit flows from the opening aromatics, finding great depth in the mid-palate and enlivened by pepper, warm spices and a volcanic minerality.
Finish: Supple tannins and luscious fruit come together in a strong, lingering finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This grows at the Black Sears Vineyards, just over the ridge from Robert Craig's winery in Angwin, where the winemaking team handles this moutain zin with restraint, treating it more like pinot noir than cabernet. The care shows in the wine's arc of power and grace, a heady expansion of fruit, meaty game and foresty mushroom character that trails off but does not disappear from memory. Its deep, layered complexity and beautiful floral character last, darkening like roses as they dry and fade to black. Decant a bottle for tea-smoked duck.
Unapologetically bold, spice-driven and jammy, Zinfandel has secured its title as the darling of California vintners by adapting well to the state's diverse microclimates and landscapes. Born in Croatia, it later made its way to southern Italy where it was named Primitivo. Fortunately, the imperial nursery of Vienna catalogued specimens of the vine, and it later made its way to New England in 1829. Parading the true American spirit, Zinfandel found a new home in California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Somm Secret—California's ancient vines of Zinfandel are those that survived the neglect of Prohibition; today these vines produce the most concentrated, ethereal and complex examples.
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.