2016 Howell Mountain Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

“Spanish for hillside, Ladera is indeed a wonderful representation of mountain fruit, and this red from Howell Mountain defines the commitment. Winemaker Jade Barrett refers to 2016 as ‘one of those classic vintages in Napa Valley, with no serious heat spikes or threat of rain; our Cabernet Sauvignon was able to mature gradually.’ And with that maturity, luxury comes in a blissfully generous array of black and blue fruit. While dark chocolate paints the palate, its sturdy tannins are bound with a fine acidity and a balanced richness.”

“A big, mountain-grown cabernet from Napa generally takes a number of years to come around. That means you typically need to cellar it for a couple of years after purchase. Ladera does that for you, aging its reserve cabernet prior to release. Hence, the 2016 is now available when other wineries are selling the 2018 vintage. The 2016 from Ladera is a bold wine, powerful and rich in dark fruits, with impressive palate weight and a very long midpalate and finish.”

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.”

“Comprised of the winery’s most exceptional lots of the vintage; the grapes were hand-sorted, gently de-stemmed without crushing, and cold soaked for 7 days to extract maximum fruit characteristics; wine was aged in 95% new premium French oak barrels for 22 months before the final blend was assembled. Estate Grown, Cellared & Bottled by Ladera Vineyards, St. Helena, CA; Deep garnet color; black fruit, dried earth, savory spices, quite rich; full bodied, firm and built on the palate; dry, medium acidity, very good balance; black fruit flavors, earth, oak, quite intense; medium finish, firm aftertaste.”

“Howell Mountain produces some of the most respectable cabernets in Napa Valley. This powerful version has fine tannins, hedonistically rich black cherry, cassis and blackberry flavors. For me, Howell Mountain wines tend to have really rich, intense blackberry and mulberry fruit flavors, and the tannins can range from very burly and hard to relatively soft depending on where the wines are grown and how the grapes are treated in the winery.”

“Wine, etc.: Can a $200 bottle of wine be a bargain? These eight are proof.”
— Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr, December 8, 2020

“Discussing Napa Valley’s mountain appellations as if they’re some sort of monolith is a recipe for over-generalization if you’re not careful. After all, the region’s main mountain AVAs are found over a broad swath of Napa, and boast remarkably different geological origins, soil compositions, expositions, and micro-climates. In addition, the regulations that define those AVAs differ greatly in terms of how they approach the issue of altitude.

Still, for all the often dramatic divergence between, say, Atlas Peak and Diamond Mountain—they’re nearly 30 miles apart, and the former is east of Napa city whereas the latter is west of Calistoga, with all the geological and geographical differences one would expect—so-called ‘mountain wines’ are an increasingly important segment of the world of Napa Valley Cabs. Much of that, it seems, is because of the characteristics that they have in common.

‘The main difference is that most mountain sites have free-draining soils, meaning rainwater or irrigation water wicks away from the vines and consequently the berries are often much smaller (as there is less liquid in them) than berries on the valley floor, farmed on deeper soils with better water-holding capacity,’ explained Steve Rogstad, winemaker for Brandlin Estate.

‘On Mount Veeder,’ he also pointed out, ‘the vineyards are typically along the ridge lines as the slopes are often too steep and erosive for planting. This added exposure to the elements (wind, sun, diurnal temperature shifts) forces the skins to thicken in response to the environment. Since the color and tannin in red grapes are found in the skins, and mountain skins are thicker, they tend to have more tannin and color than valley floor fruit and less liquid to dissolve them in when the berries are crushed and fermented. So for me, the main difference between mountain Cabernets and other AVAs is concentration.’

Renée Ary, winemaker at Duckhorn Vineyards, agrees. ‘Yes, there’s a big difference in the tannin profile of our Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon versus what we see on our valley floor Cabernets. The tannins are bigger and bolder and can be a bit edgier,’ she noted. ‘For this reason, we age our Howell Mountain Cabernet in barrel for six months longer than our other Cabernets. It also gets extra bottle aging time. The extra oak and bottle aging allows the tannins time to integrate and the wine time to soften.’

Jade Barrett, winemaker at Ladera, explained that, ‘In my experience, the soil and elevation play an integral role in both the tannin structure and natural acidity in the grapes and their resulting wines. During the summer, our mountain vineyards are often 10 [degrees] F cooler than on the valley floor and sit above the typical fog line receiving more hours of sun exposure, which lengthens the growing season. Also, the vines work harder to survive in the spare, rocky soils producing smaller, concentrated grapes. This results in a longer growing season giving the tannins time to fully mature, all while developing gorgeous flavors while retaining the vibrant natural acidity that can make a great Cabernet Sauvignon so dynamic.’

Growing grapes in the mountains has its own unique set of benefits and challenges. Braiden Albrecht, winemaker of Mayacamas, pointed out that, ‘For me, one advantage is how much variation we find both between vineyard blocks and within them. Changes in soil composition, soil chemistry, elevation, aspect etc. allow us to make wines with great complexity from a small geographic area.’ However, he continued, ‘One more recent disadvantage is wildfire risk. Hillside vineyards in many cases are remote and surrounded by forest. If a wildfire does threaten the property, it’ll be difficult for fire departments to safely defend.’

‘Mountains are not the easiest places to farm,’ said Chris Carpenter, winemaker at Cardinale, Mt. Brave, Lokoya, and other highly esteemed bottlings. He added, ‘You’re dealing with a soil profile that’s shallow.’ Also, he elaborated, ‘There’s a lack of nutrients…and water holding potential.’

‘Then,’ he went on, ‘you’ve got ridge lines, tree lines, that shade part of the vineyard’ at different times. ‘Because of the lack of nutrients and because of the lack of water, you don’t get a lot of fruit…so there’s a financial implication to that.’

Still, the effort is worth it. ‘We do it because of the intensity of these wines…the fruit that you get form the mountains, there’s a deeper concentration of flavor’ and natural acidity that stays stable for longer, Carpenter said.

Barrett concurred. ‘There are plenty of disadvantages, however, none of them affect wine quality. Mountain winegrowing is extremely labor-intensive and costly, both to plant vineyards and to farm them. Additionally, because the soils are generally very rocky, the vines naturally yield a smaller crop, which can be further impacted by spring frosts. At the same time, the ‘disadvantage’ of smaller crops can be a good thing, yielding complex and profound wines, with age-worthy structure. While growing and making mountain wines can be difficult, the rewards far outweigh the challenges.”

Forbes.com
Brian Freedman
May 17, 2021

“Minty and perfumed with cedar, but with a solid core of huckleberries and kirsch, before a palate that glides across the tongue with plum pudding, cracked pink peppercorns, Chinese five-spice powder, dark cocoa powder, and cinnamon stick. A beef bouillon note lingers on the finish. Plush in texture, yet boasting enough acidity to keep it fresh. This will evolve in fascinating ways well into the late-2030s.”