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- View from Cade atop of Howell Mountain
After an early morning rise and breakfast, and I highly recommend having a hearty breakfast before starting to taste any wine, we headed up Howell Mountain Road to the top to Cade Winery. Wow what a view overlooking the Napa Valley floor, it makes working there amazing just for the view but thankfully the wines are amazing as well. Cade Winery is a sister winery to Plumpjack Winery which is located in Oakville District of Napa Valley. They share similar philosophy in making great varietal wines from the area in which the winery is located. In this case being a top of Howell Mountain the wines are rich and dense with elegance and heartiness to them. We started off tasting wines and then touring the property. The first wine we had was the Estate Sauvignon Blanc which unfortunately is only available at the winery. The fresh acidity mixed with a lovely lemon apricot notes make for a perfect wine with fresh shellfish. Next was the Cade Napa Cuvee Cabernet, which is their entry point Cabernet while mostly mountain fruit there is a small amount of fruit from the valley floor. Big and powerful and classic cabernet yet at the same time supple and soft notes on the mid to back palate were very welcomed for drinking now. We then tasted their Howell Mountain Cabernet which is a classic Howell Mountain Cab, big rich tannins, massive fruit and needing time to mature. We finished this portion of the tasting with the Plumpjack Cabernet which is beautiful and rich with supple tannins and a nice velvety texture on the palate. We then toured the winemaking facility where we saw their tanks and caves in which they store their oak barrels what a beautiful site. We finished the tasting with the their Estate Cabernet which they sell in packs of 2, one screw cap the other cork closure. Wow! This wine is super elegant and rich and shows a very long life ahead of it. The palate leaves you wanting more and more, a wine worthy of any special occasion.
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Clik here to view. - Miner Oracle along with rocks from the Stagecoach Vineyard
have been maturing in the barrel for over a year and are about to be blended and then bottled to be held onto for a another year or so before release. It was interesting to see how the individual components are shaping up and you can visualize how the final blend will be. We started with the Cabernet Sauvignon which was big and powerful and was going to add the power and velvety texture to the palate. Next was the Cabernet Franc which had a slight amount of restraint but all structure and firmness. The Petit Verdot was next and had huge tannins and blue fruit. The next barrel we tasted was the Malbec which was full of fruit and lushness. The final component, and what will most likely be the largest percentage of the grapes in the final blend is the Merlot, not your typical green astrigent Merlot. This is big and full bodied Merlot with plenty of lush fruit and great structure, I can see the wonderful potential for the 2011 Oracle and there will not be much of it available as the vintage overall was not a large crop compared to the 2009 or 2012 vintages.
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Clik here to view. - Realm Winery The Bard Red Blend
After leaving Miner and getting a quick lunch at one of my favorite
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Clik here to view. - Bottle of Dunn 2000 at Press Restaurant in St. Helena
