Almacerro, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, 2018

About The Producer
We fell in love with a Napa we came to know in the early 1980s, which is to say a Napa that hadn’t changed much since the repeal of Prohibition. Farmers and winemakers tasting out of their cellars, unabashedly agrarian and bucolic. Remote and often wild places; even on the well-traveled Silverado Trail you felt like you were miles in the country. So when we started looking for a vineyard, we knew exactly what we wanted. We wanted our own piece of dirt, high up on Howell Mountain, perhaps Napa’s most remote outpost. A place to farm with all of the raw materials to allow for the utmost in quality in our wine.

And Almacerro was it. At almost 1,800 feet, the grapes grown here are mountain fruit — no debating that. Since we have been here, we have worked to revitalize and expand the vineyard planted by the family before us, so it can reach its full potential. Our crushpad is rustic and our caves unadorned. But they work. Like a lovingly restored family heirloom, we’ve fixed what was broken and embraced the property’s character and beauty everywhere else. Under Mike Wolf’s care the vineyard is flourishing, and with Françoise Peschon and Matilda Scott’s expertise, the wines have a profile that reflects our approach — forthright in structure, nuanced and balanced in character, and evocative of this incredible place.

Grape / Blend
95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Merlot

Origin
Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is dark and brooding, earthy and layered. Notes of petrichor, cedar box, dusty savory herbs and mountain sage brush exude from the glass. Unmistakably Howell Mountain, its robust and muscular framework is woven delicately with luscious, velvety tannins to reveal a wine that is both power- ful and lifted. Beneath these savory layers are beautifully nuanced aromas of cassis, juicy ripe blackberries and mulberries with perfumy notes of fresh rose petals and lavender that provide yet another level of intrigue and depth to the wine. As the tannins wind their way across the palate, we are left with the impression of total balance and harmony, a wine that is both stoic and poised.

95 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
The same blend as the 2017, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is another impressive, medium to full-bodied Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon from this team. Cassis, graphite, chalky minerality, and iron, as well as some classic Howell Mountain bouquet garni-like notes, all define the aromatics, and it's balanced, has ripe tannins, and lots of minerality on the finish. Give it another 2-3 years and enjoy through 2038+

Product Size: 750ml