Pott Wines, 'Incubo', Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley, California, 2022

Overview of the Wine
Mt. Veeder has been getting a lot of well-deserved press recently. We loved it at first sight, and moved up here in 2004. It's a dormant volcano and its landscapes can be downright weird: tension of tectonic shift in the plunging canyons; soils of ancient sea-floor shale and sandstone pushed above 1500 feet.
As you would expect from Pott, we respect and nurture the weirdness. We allow a permanent cover crop between our vine rows which supports the microbial world in the soil, and all the attendant birds and beasties above. We have nesting boxes for owls, bluebirds and bats, and they in turn control insects and other predators. We are 100% organically farmed, and even brew our own "compost teas" for when the vines need a refreshing boost of nutrients.

When it comes time to harvest we pick by hand in to small baskets to avoid premature crushing. We harvest multiple times because different parts of the vineyard ripen at different times. In spite of researching many high tech ways to analyze ripeness we still prefer to pick by flavor, the old-fashioned way. (In other words we eat a lot of grapes!)
Then to the winery where age-old artisanal techniques and indigenous yeasts develop pure, un-adulterated expressions of our site and its beauty

Winemaker
Aaron Pott

Grape / Blend
99% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc

Origin
Napa Valley, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The 2022 vintage was the most perfect example yet of the majesty of our ridge-top mountain site. Deftly textured tannins give rich, full body, yet the wine maintains its hallmark purity, with layers upon layers of elegant fruit (blackberry to violets to orange blossom) and a long finish of cocoa, tobacco, plum and blackcurrant. There is a very small percentage of Cabernet Franc that lifts the mid palate and brightens the intense aromatics.

97 Points - James Suckling
So muscular, sinewy, firm and structured, yet elegant, concentrated and pure. This full-bodied wine balances firm, layered tannins and brilliant fresh raspberries, blueberries, and blackcurrants. Elegant, well balanced and beautiful. It offers the fine-grained tannins of Mt. Veeder that will help it age a long time. Drinkable now, but best from 2030.

95 Points - Wine Independent
The single-varietal 2022 Incubo Cabernet Sauvignon, tasted as a barrel sample, is deep garnet-purple in color. It leaps with scents of creme de cassis, black cherries, and mulberries, followed by touches of violets, dark chocolate, and cardomom. The full-bodied palate is rich, juicy, plush, and really plummy, with a peppery lift to the finish.

95 Points - Wine Advocate
Coming entirely off the estate vineyard on Mount Veeder, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Incubo includes just a drop (1%) of Cabernet Franc. It's muscular and tannic, sturdy and rich, with aromas of cedar, cinnamon and dark earth accenting a mix red and black cherries.

Product size: 750ml