Winemaker Notes
Aromatically, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon demonstrates a heady, complex mix of black and red fruit with clear suggestions of leather, tobacco and cigar box. On balance the aroma tips over slightly in favor of the dark fruit with the red providing an essential central component. The aroma is so intriguing it’s hard to move on.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A smooth, balanced and full-bodied wine just starting to show some benefits of age. Firm, sandy tannins wrap up blackberries, blueberries, hints of bay leaves and wild sage. Moderately tannic. Mountain grown.
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Wine Enthusiast
From the producer’s dry-farmed estate, the grapes for this wine are grown at 1,800-feet in elevation. Dried herb, black pepper and clove arise on the nose. The elegant, restrained palate brings notes of forest floor, red currant and cigar, all wrapped in a mountainous tannic structure
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Wine & Spirits
A sleek and sapid cabernet from high up Spring Mountain, this 2016 is rich in its savory red fruit, yet potently acidic. That tension comes across in scents of cilantro and spruce; the wine brought one taster to a match with Jasper Hill’s Harbison, a washed-rind cheese wrapped in spruce bark.
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Jeb Dunnuck
If you like classic, old school Cabernet and don't mind a solid kick of green, you'll dig the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District. Revealing a healthy purple/ruby color as well as notes of red currants, green tobacco, cedarwood, and damp earth, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a nicely concentrated, structured mouthfeel, solid ripeness in the tannins, and an outstanding finish. Give bottles a good 4-5 years of bottle age, and it should evolve nicely for 15 years or more.
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.
Above the town of St. Helena on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains sits the Spring Mountain District.
A dynamic region, its vineyards, cut by numerous springs and streams, vary in elevation, slope and aspect. Soils differ throughout with over 20 distinct types inside of the 8,600 acres that define the appellation. Within that area, only about 1,000 are planted to vineyards. Predominantly farmed by small, independent producers, the region currently has just over 30 wineries.
During the growing season, late afternoon Pacific Ocean breezes reach the Spring Mountain vineyards, which sit at between 400 and 1,200 feet. Daytime temperatures during mid summer and early fall remain slightly cooler than those of the valley floor.
Spring Mountain soils—volcanic matter and sedimentary rock—create intense but balanced reds with lush and delicate tannins. The area excels with Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot and in some cooler spots, Chardonnay.