Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain Napa 2017

Charles Krug Family Reserve Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Rising 1,650 feet above the Napa Valley floor on the southwestside of Howell Mountain, the Family Reserve Howell MountainCabernet Sauvignon sits above the fog line. The distinctiveclimate, along with volcanic and iron-rich red soils, producefruit with great balance and intensity.

Review:

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Release Cold Springs is the most distinctive of the wines in this range of limited-release Cabernets from Charles Krug. Gravel, licorice, menthol and spice all develop in a Howell Mountain Cabernet endowed with tremendous class and nuance.

-Vinous 92 Points

Vinous 97 Points

Early to bud and early to ripen, the 2014 vintage was our third drought year in a row. Dry, even temperatures marched the grapes along at a steady clip all year and created a wine with beautifully integrated fruit, acidity, and tannin.
Dense and dark magenta in color, this is a lithe and energetic vintage with lifted aromatics and a purity of fruit that lights up the medium-bodied tannin structure. The nose promises fresh black fruits, cherries and a touch of graphite, and the palate completely delivers. Juicy blackberry, plum, and bright cherry explode in the mouth, and develop into savory notes of baked black fruit and fresh pencil shavings on the mid-palate. 
Eagle Summit Vineyard’s signature eucalyptus appears on the back palate to brighten the fruit, showing fragrant peppermint and warm, toasty spices through the finish. Whether you open it young or wait a few decades, this vintage does Howell Mountain proud--sophisticated and smart, with a rustic wild side.

Cresta Velia Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Aged in 100% French oak (86% new)

• 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Eagle Summit Vineyard on Howell Mountain
• Equal amounts of clone 4 and clone 7
• unfined and unfiltered

Review:

"The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet aged 20 months in 86% new French oak, with the typical suspects in terms of cooperage – Darnajou, Taransaud, and Remond. This opaque purple-colored wine has plenty of mulberry and blackcurrant fruit along with hints of blackberries, camphor and incense. The are some notes of unsmoked cigar and licorice as well. Ripe, medium to full-bodied and luscious, it is a classic to drink over the next 15 or more years. - RP"

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #228, December 2016), 90 pts

The origin of Lot C-91 began in the fall of 1969 when Joe Heitz created this one-off cuvée, which was very normal in those days, as a more premium version of his already iconic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon bottling. Joe envisioned Lot C-91 as a greater step up in quality from the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, with a higher quality of fruit sourcing, coming exclusively from the sought-after single vineyards of Heitz Cellar.

Lot C-91 is the culmination of 50 years of tireless effort, trial and error, and the continual desire to make a unique expression of the heralded vineyards of Heitz Cellar.

Review:

Wow. Such a racy and exciting nose! This is quite agile and nimble, full of red and blue berries in the forefront, then complemented by spiced orange, earl grey, red plums, potpourri, savory plums and chocolate. Tense and elegant on the palate, which is all about succulent red berries, nuance and texture. Nothing redundant here. A great Napa cabernet sauvignon that has real definition. A beauty by all accounts!

-James Suckling 96 Points

In 1969, Heitz produced a one-off cuvée called Lot C-91. It was thought of as an elevated version of the Napa Valley Cabernet – a 'best of the best' blend from sites throughout Napa. After a bottle of the '69 turned up and turned heads at a Heitz wine dinner, the winemaking team decided to produce a modern iteration. It's comprised of vineyards in four AVAs: Rutherford (34%), Oakville (34%), Howell Mountain (17%) and St Helena (15%). The dazzling nose instantly shows off the component from Martha's Vineyard and on the palate it walks the line between succulent, powerful, herbal and floral, showing none of the heat of the 2017 vintage. As of June 2020, this was still a barrel sample, while many Napa 2017s are already on the market.
-Decanter 96 Points

Klipsun Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain is made from 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 8% Syrah.

The 2017 vintage started out with a cool, wet winter, with significantly above average snowfall in eastern Washington. Red Mountain had a 24% increase in rainfall in 2017 over the 10 year average. Going into spring, the cool trend continued. As a result, bud break at Klipsun was behind the historical average and significantly behind the most recent warm vintages of 2013 2016. Bloom was also slightly delayed. Because of the cool weather, set was lighter than usual which translated into significantly less fruit in 2017.

The early part of the summer saw average temperatures followed by above average temperatures in July and August. As a result, he at accumulation was a bit above average for the season, despite the cool start. And because of the smaller than normal yield, harvest began right on schedule, perhaps even a bit early for some of the whites. In the second half of September, when Klipsun traditionally harvests all the reds, the temperatures cooled considerably, which delayed ripening. This allowed for luxurious amounts of hang time without the threat of increased sugar accumulation, stretching harvest into the first week of October. A s a result, all fruit going into the 2017 Klipsun Cabernet Sauvignon could be picked at perfect sugars levels with great fruit maturity and flavors. Overall, the quality of t he 2017 harvest is as high as the 2016. However, the style is slightly different. The 2017 wine has a firmer structure, more spice & mocha in the nose and will take a few mo re years than the 2016 to reach a perfect balance between fruit and tannin.

Review:

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain is composed of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 8% Syrah, which immediately emanates with aromas of dark roasted espresso bean, toasted oak, dried tobacco and dusty black fruit tones of cassis, currant and blackberries covered in dark cocoa powder. Full-bodied, generous in complexity and still tight in the mouth, the wine unpacks layers of cedar and vanilla tones with dusty purple flowers and bitter dark chocolate across the mid-palate, giving way to fine-grained tannins that will loosen with time. As the wine sits on the palate, the 100% French oak regimen is on full display for all to see. The wine lingering long and continues to evolve in the mouth, ending with a drying finish that highlights the oak and terroir. It’s still a baby, and I would keep it in the cellar for another few years before popping the cork—this will effortlessly coast for more than a decade. The 2017 vintage marks the second release of this wine, with 6,300 bottles produced. It comes from its namesake vineyard, first planted in 1984 on Red Mountain. I’m keeping my eye on this producer. I’m impressed, and even though the oak may be a bit much at the moment, it's still delicious. - Wine Advocate 94+ Points

Cardinale Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot.

Super structured and with minerality to spare, this Cabernet Sauvignon offers a real presence on the palate from start to finish. Generous notes of dark chocolate balance beautifully with a blue and black fruit flavor explosion, finishing with a subtle whisper of rose petal.

- James Suckling 98 Points