Duckhorn Vineyards has sourced grapes from this distinctive region for more than a quarter century and has crafted a Howell Mountain bottling since 1989. Recognized as one of the Napa Valley’s most acclaimed winegrowing regions, grapes from Howell Mountain are famous for producing age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignons with rich, deep color and excellent structure. To encourage further complexity, we bottle-age this mountain-grown wine one year longer than our other wines prior to release.
Vintage notes: The 2017 growing season began with abundant winter rains, followed by a warm, dry spring that led to a perfectly timed budbreak. In addition to replenishing the water table, the early season rains produced robust canopies, which provided invaluable shade during a week-long heat event that kicked harvest into gear during the last week of August. This was followed by a much-needed cooldown that allowed the vines to recuperate, while also giving us extra hangtime for flavor development and tannin resolution. We harvested throughout September and into early October, with the grapes showing lovely ripeness and quality, yielding plush, polished and wonderfully complex wines.
Winemaking notes: The nose offers an explosion of dark mountain fruit with decadent aromas of raspberry-filled chocolates, black currant, mulberry and huckleberry jam, as well as more savory notes of cedar and spice. On the palate, firm mountain tannins underscore this wine’s opulence and ageability, framing the blackberry, fig and black currant flavors, with bright underlying acidity providing poise and finesse to the long, layered finish.
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