Robert Craig Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 2021
(Napa Valley, California) - [VM 96]

About the Winery: 
With a passion for Napa Valley Mountain Cabernet, Bob Craig founded his eponymous winery in 1990 on Howell Mountain with three friends from business school. In 2004, CEO Elton Slone joined the winery and became a full partner in 2007. Following Bob’s retirement and departure from the wine business in 2012, Slone has continued to move the business forward with the other three founding partners. Known for producing small-lot, site-expressive wines from high elevation vineyards, Robert Craig Winery consistently garners high scores and positive accolades from the wine press.

Terroir: 
This wine comes primarily from the 9.5-acre Winery Estate Vineyard, with the addition of old vine lots from Candlestick Ridge Vineyard. Both vineyards sit at 2300 feet along the summit ridge. The Howell Mountain AVA begins at 1400 feet and includes vineyards that sit above the inversion layer and fog line.

Notes from the Winemaker: 
Our Howell Mountain 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is finally emerging from its shell as it prepares to journey to our members homes in the coming weeks. The vibrant, primary mass of dark fruits in the nose and mouth have pulled back to reveal the class and nuance that make this wine one of the Napa Valley’s very best reds each year. Crushed red rocks, dark thorny vine fruits, cassis and mountain wildflowers all pour from the glass. It’s hard to believe that this is the same wine I tasted six months ago. The minuscule yields of nearly one ton per acre on our Howell Mountain Estate and Candlestick Ridge vineyards led to historic skin-to-juice ratios that provided wines of exceptional color and depth, even by Howell Mountain standards.

Tasting Notes:
Currents of lavender, cedar and rich plum run through the bouquet. 
On the palate, energy abounds, and tannins are ripe, round, and lovely, providing the scaffolding for copious black berry, dark plum and cassis flavors which are ultimately finely structured with depth, density and length.

Technical Information:

Composition: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, 2% Petite Verdot
Maturation: 18 months in 80% new French oak
Production: 1176 cases

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Ratings & Reviews:

96 Points - Vinous Media
"The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon (Howell Mountain) is another fabulous wine in this range. Inky dark fruit, lavender, wild flowers, jasmine, spice, crème de cassis and pencil shavings are all beautifully delineated. This deep, potent Howell Mountain Cabernet delivers the goods." - Antonio Galloni (Dec 2023)