CADE Howell Mountain Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
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Parker
Robert
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Aromas of black cherry, minerals, warm chocolate, and black currants are followed on the palate with flavors ofblackberry puree, chocolate, vanilla, black olive and rosemary. We are amazed at the rich and plush tannins of thiswine a testament not only the 2008 vintage but also to winemaker Toni Biagi and his skilled crew at CADE.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Displaying an even more opaque purple color, the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate exhibits a glorious nose of blueberries, black raspberries, plums, graphite and crushed rocks. This exquisite Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is about as good as it gets from these higher elevation vineyards on the eastern side of Napa Valley. A brilliant texture, stunning purity and great length make for a fabulous wine to drink over the next 20-25+ years.
Rating: 98+
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CADE Estate Winery Supports Farmworkers. For every bottle of CADE Estate Cabernet Sauvignon sold, $1 will be donated to the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon is the star of this part of Napa’s rugged, eastern hills, but Zinfandel was responsible for giving the Howell Mountain growing area its original fame in the late 1800s.
Winemaking in Howell Mountain was abandoned during Prohibition, and wasn’t reawakened until the arrival of Randy Dunn, a talented winemaker famous for the success of Caymus in the 1970s and 1980s. In the early eighties, he set his sights on the Napa hills and subsequently astonished the wine world with a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Shortly thereafter Howell Mountain became officially recognized as the first sub-region of Napa Valley (1983).
With vineyards at 1,400 to 2,000 feet in elevation, they predominantly sit above the fog line but the days in Howell Mountain remain cooler than those in the heart of the valley, giving the grapes a bit more time on the vine.
The Howell Mountain AVA includes 1,000 acres of vineyards interspersed by forestlands in the Vaca Mountains. The soils, shallow and infertile with good drainage, are volcanic ash and red clay and produce highly concentrated berries with thick skins. The resulting wines are full of structure and potential to age.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah thrive in this sub-appellation, as well as its founding variety, Zinfandel.