June 22, 2023
“I adored the new releases and am totally enamored by their 2018 Ladera Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (OB 95) which is a massive wine that really has insanely good cellaring potential. Enjoy this beauty over the next twenty years. Learn more about these outstanding wines on their website or my reviews of the brilliant new wines by Ladera.”
April 3, 2023
Ladera has been on a tear in recent years, with their Howell Mountain Reserve, and other high-end bottlings showing particularly well.
June 2022
“Napa Valley and Cabernet go hand-in-hand, with premier wineries showcasing classic characteristics in their estate offerings. A few synonymous with premium-distinction include long-time favorite Howell Mountain Wineries including Ladera.”
October 2020
“Since its founding in 1998, Ladera has earned a reputation for making some of Napa Valley’s most acclaimed mountain-grown wines, along with alluring Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. With the unveiling of their lovely new home on the Silverado Trail, visitors can enjoy an inviting terraced patio offering idyllic views of the Mayacamas Mountains.”
September 16, 2020
James Molesworth
“Energetic Napa Cabernets from Howell Mountain and St. Helena impressed in recent blind tastings.”
2016 Ladera Howell Mountain Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – 93 Points: Outstanding; a wine of superior character and style.
“This sports a very solid core of cassis, cherry puree and plum reduction that is both dense and bright, with racy red licorice and sweet spice notes filling in from behind. There’s a sappy feel on the finish, with tongue-coating fruit and grip, but this shows the cut and drive for balance. Best from 2022 through 2036.”
April 2020
“I’m a big fan of Ladera’s consistency over their entire portfolio. There is always solid quality to be found.”
September 2018
“Ladera is one of the more well-known and respected producers in Napa Valley—their Cabernet Sauvignons in particular are very highly regarded—but they also produce remarkable Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley, which is in Sonoma County.”
April 2018
“Ever since its first commercial vintage in 1997, Ladera Vineyards has identified as a mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon property, producing intense, authoritative Cabs with the concentration of mountain fruit and yet subtlety of expression. When the winery purchased a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyard in Russian River Valley in 2006, and an adjacent parcel in 2008, it created a separate label for the wines from that area, in order to preserve its identity as a Cabernet specialist. But identity politics can be limiting. With the 2015 vintage, Ladera has incorporated the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay into its Ladera brand.
The interim brand for the two Russian River Valley wines was Pillow Road, the name of the property. Now ‘Pillow Road’ appears as the single-vineyard name for Ladera Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and Ladera Russian River Valley Chardonnay. The vineyard itself is situated in the Sebastopol Hills area, southwest of the city of Sebastopol, just ten miles from the Pacific Ocean. With its morning fogs, large diurnal temperature swings and its Goldrich sandy loam soils, this area is considered an especially favorable location for these varieties. The 2015 wines represent the tenth vintage since Ladera’s purchase of the site.”
Top California Picks
“Best bouquet of the bunch.”
-Cathy Huyghe, April 2018
2017 Annual Restaurant Poll
Ladera – #12 in restaurants across America
August 2017
“As total winos, we’re constantly taking notes on the best spots in Napa. Ladera Vineyards offers several different tour options, all centered around their famous Cabernet Sauvignon.”
May 2017 – Maryann Worobiec
“MaryAnn Worobiec’s Recommended California Sauvignon Blancs”
February 2017
“Ladera’s portfolio, crafted by winemaker Jade Barrett, provides for an outstanding tasting from start to finish. The Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé can both serve as refreshing aperitifs. But, rightfully, the main attraction is their Cabernet Sauvignon. Dense and ponderous, this is a wine that requires the patience of a few years in the cellar.”
2016 Annual Restaurant Poll
#6 in restaurants across America
April 2015 – Laurie Daniel
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how good some of them are. They aren’t the big, bold, showy cabs that Napa Valley has become known for, but the really good examples show a finesse and balance that’s become the exception in riper vintages.
The best 2011s, instead, retain a savory character that reflects the varietal character of cabernet, with notes of anise, black olive and cedar. ‘It’s very location-driven,’ says Pat Stotesbery, proprietor of Ladera Vineyards, referring to the quality of the 2011s. ‘In supposed weaker vintages, hillside locations are the place to go.’
Ladera is in the hills, in the Howell Mountain appellation.
Stotesbery acknowledges that the good wines ‘are a little less Napa-like,’ but he says he prefers his 2011s to the richer 2010s. I found the 2011 Ladera Howell Mountain Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($90) to be concentrated and lively, with red and black fruit, a hint of anise and very firm tannins.”
October 2014
“A Top Napa Cabernet”
April 2013 – Alder Yarrow
“I’ve been drinking wine for nearly 50% of my life at this point, taking notes on wine for almost 20 years, and writing this blog for nine, but despite that fact, it’s not exactly common for me to be able to say with certainty that I’ve tasted every vintage of a particular wine made by any one winery. Even those wineries whose inaugural vintages debuted since Vinography became a going concern I am generally not able to taste their wines with regularity every single year.
But there are a few wineries whose wines I have been buying and tasting since I found out about them, and Ladera Vineyards is one of them. I’ve been continually impressed with the quality, consistency, and personality of the wines since day one.
Ladera means ‘hillside’ or ‘slope’ in Spanish, and in this single word you will find captured the essence of Ladera’s wines. Owners Pat and Anne Stotesbery farm a hillside estate on the top of Howell Mountain with a single-minded focus on producing wine that speaks of its origins.”
July 2011
“We are back on the road for our Taste of America Tour, with a stop at one of the most beautiful spots in the country, Napa Valley in California where they produce some of literally the best wines in the world. And here with his favorite and affordable summer Napa wines is Food & Wine magazine executive wine editor, Ray Isle.
‘If there is one thing Napa Valley is known for, it’s Cabernet Sauvignon. It is America’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignon producing region. If you want a good Napa Valley Cabernet, splurge a little, this is actually a more expensive wine, this is about $39 a bottle, but to me what you are still looking for is value. This is a $39 wine that tastes to me like a $75 wine. Ladera Napa Valley, a fantastic producer. This is a wine you could drink now, you could put it away for 10-15 years. You could have it with a gorgeous steak you could honestly have it without anything at all.”
July 2011 – Rebecca Jarvis
Napa Valley, Calif. is simply one of the most beautiful places in the country. But it’s best-known for its wines. Napa’s unique climate and soil composition make it fertile grape-growing country, producing some of the finest in the world that are used in vintages that rival some of the best from Europe.
We turned to Food & Wine magazine Executive Wine Editor for guidance on some of the best reasonably-priced summer wines Napa has to offer: 2007 Ladera Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
“Finally, if there’s one thing Napa Valley is known for, it’s Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet is kind of the king of red grapes, and Napa is unquestionably the greatest place for it in the US. You have to splurge a little for terrific Cabernet, but the key is finding one that tastes even better than its price. This Ladera, to me, tastes like a $75 wine even though it’s only $39.” – Ray Isle
December 2008 – Sarah Lynch – Harvest Fiesta
“Visiting Ladera Vineyards on Howell Mountain, you would never guess you are in Napa. It might be the towering redwood trees or the notable altitude. Or maybe it’s the venerable 114-year-old stone winery. On this particular autumn Saturday – when the winery is hosting its annual harvest party, a 20-year tradition – it could very well be the 10-piece mariachi band playing under a eucalyptus tree. It’s a world away from the orchestrated elegance of Wine Country. There are three simple explanations for why a trip to this winery feels like a journey back in time – the history of the land, the background of its current owners and the decades-long stewardship of the vineyard manager.”
Fall 2008
Best New Wineries: Ladera
“Those young vines, growing at 1,600 and 1,800 feet, have consistently produced a succulent mountain-grown cabernet since the first release.”
