2015 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

Howell Mountain & Candlestick Ridge Estate Vineyards

Howell Mountain

94 POINTS

“The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec and a splash of Merlot that spent 18 months in 80% new French oak. It has a darker, mineral-driven style in its blue fruits, smoked earth, charcoal, and graphite aromatics. These give way to a full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, fresh, lively 2015 that’s going to benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and keep for 15+.”
Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
12/29/17

750 ml

Once again in 2015, Howell Mountain produced something quite extraordinary at harvest time. This release continues to be sourced primarily from our nine-acre Winery Estate vineyard that surrounds the winery, but this is also the first vintage that includes some fruit – both Cabernet and Merlot – from our new Candlestick Ridge vineyard just beyond the winery.

BLEND: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec, 1% Merlot
HARVEST DATES: September 15-October 8, 2015
AVERAGE SUGAR: 25.5° Brix | TA: 6.7g/L pH: 3.72 | ALCOHOL: 14.8%
BARREL AGING: 18 mo. Chateau-style French oak; 80% new. Unfiltered and unfined.
BOTTLING DATE: May 1-2, 2017
CASES PRODUCED: 1275

WINERY ESTATE VINEYARD, HOWELL MOUNTAIN
The nine-acre Winery Estate Vineyard continues to demand constant attention – with huge variation in soils and microclimates. This site always has tiny yields – on average a meager 1.8 tones per acre. 2015 was even scarcer than usual, with early budbreak followed by cooler temperatures leading to a smaller crop.

CANDLESTICK RIDGE ESTATE VINEYARD, HOWELL MOUNTAIN
Just down the road, Candlestick Ridge is the northernmost vineyard in the Howell Mountain AVA and is slightly warmer than the summit ridge where the Winery Estate vineyard lies. Candlestick is influenced by warm air from Pope Valley to the east and – at its slightly lower elevation – it is protected from the constant wind that hits the ridge line. The big subsurface boulders were removed during the replanting, leaving thin tufa soil on top of a rocky volcanic bedrock.

The red volcanic and tufa soils give our Howell Mountain Cabernet a wild, bramble berry character, coupled with touches of warm red stones and spice. Round, supple tannins frame flavors of red berry, blackberry and graphite. Full-bodied and decidedly opulent.

The Candlestick fruit added darker fruit aromatics and a fleshy, more opulent mid-palate. This blends beautifully with the wild, bramble berry character of the Estate Vineyard fruit, really opening up the complexity, depth and flavor of this wine. You’ll notice the fruit notes enter the arena in a more pronounced way with the 2015, offering a generous dose of luxury on the palate.

94 POINTS
“The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec and a splash of Merlot that spent 18 months in 80% new French oak. It has a darker, mineral-driven style in its blue fruits, smoked earth, charcoal, and graphite aromatics. These give way to a full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, fresh, lively 2015 that’s going to benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and keep for 15+.”
Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
12/29/17

93 POINTS
"Robert Craig's 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon (Howell Mountain) is surprisingly open and accessible for a young Howell Mountain wine. Medium in body, with lovely underpinnings of minerality, the 2015 has quite a bit of mineral and soil-driven nuances to play off the inky red and purplish-toned fruit. Readers who enjoy Cabernets with a good deal of aromatic nuance will want to cellar the 2015 for at least a few years. Opening a bottle before then is hardly a crime, as the wine is super expressive even in the early going."
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
3/1/18

2015 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

About This Wine

Vineyard

Tasting Notes

Accolades

2015 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

About This Wine

Vineyard

Tasting Notes

Accolades

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