2022 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Magnum Howell Mountain

Our first wine from the Howell Mountain AVA of Napa Valley.  Howell Mountain: the hype is real.  The elevation, combined with iron-rich red clay soils, make for small berries, intense flavors and robust, powerful wines.

Add David Abreu's epic Las Posadas vineyard to the equation and you have a no-doubter.  Abreu, the farming legend who helped establish the vineyards at Araujo, Colgin, Spottswoode, Bryant, Harlan and Screaming Eagle to name a few, chose this site more than 20 years ago to become his highest elevation Napa Valley vineyard.

In September of 2022, a long and severe heat wave settled into California.  Wineries began picking sooner than they had anticipated, and those who were able to process fruit before it became over-ripe had successful, beautiful wines.  We picked the Las Posadas block in 2022 much earlier than normal.  Within a few days in the fermenter, we knew that this wine had gorgeous extraction, pure fruit and a structure that would last decades.  We love the compote, dark berry and clove that the AVA brings to the mid-palate.  This wine will benefit from a few years of cellaring (or an especially long decant!) and will easily last 20 years in a cool cellar.

Full notes from Lisa Perrotti-Brown, May 2025

Deep garnet-purple colored, it bursts with bold notes of crème de cassis, blueberry pie, and plum preserves, giving way to a perfume of violets and eucalyptus. The full-bodied palate is rich and seductive with super-firm, grainy tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing long and fragrant.

97 Points

And from Jeb Dunnuck, March 2025

Ripe black and blue fruits, conifer, forest floor, iron, and tobacco all emerge from the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, a brilliant wine from this estate that shines in the vintage. Full-bodied, fresh, and focused on the palate, it has fine yet building tannins and lots of structure. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged 22 months in 60% new French oak, give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy over the following 15+ years.
March 31, 2025

95 Points

And from Antonio Galloni, December 2024

Deep, ample and resonant, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Las Posadas Vineyard is gorgeous. The smaller-scaled style of the year is evident, but the Las Posadas possesses lovely mid-palate pliancy and textural intensity. Black fruit, espresso, lavender, mocha, dried herbs and graphite build with time in the glass. This is a stellar 2022. That's all there is to it.

95 Points

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This one is a repetitive theme taken from a Japanese wood print of a mountain-scape.

Label Design by Michael Kirts. www.heroist.com