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Half Price on Howell Mountain (just don't ask why)
When top pedigree Napa Cabernets, drawn from the most expensive and sought after spots in the Valley, are offered on WineAccess for a fraction of the release price, we like to explain why. How come? Because we've always contended that smarter buyers make for more trusting members. So it makes perfect sense today to help you understand why Peter Snowden's Rockledge is offering a brilliant, superbly concentrated, cassis-infused Cabernet Sauvignon from a choice spot on prime time Howell Mountain for less than half price.
But just this once, we're not going to give you the inside dirt on how $6500/ton Cabernet with a $75/bottle release price is up for grabs on this oh-so-quiet Thursday sale for under $30/bottle. We're not going to talk about the upside down economics of Napa Valley where four consecutive years of low yields have conspired to prop up prices (how do you lower prices when you have so little to sell?) -- EVEN as retailers across the WineAccess network complain that consumers are loath to spend MORE! We're not going to talk about any of that. Why? Because the winegrowing drama on this choice mountain vineyard cove in the early Fall of 2009 makes any discussion of price or economics seem mundane. More importantly, the wine Snowden's Rockledge is literally giving away today -- selling under cost -- is one of the finest examples of what the best mountain vineyards put out in the last of Robert Parker's three vintage trifecta.
Up until mid-September, Howell Mountain had never seen a more glorious summer. Warm, but not overly so, dry, and breezy, the vines on these volcanic soils were primed to put out 1.5 tons per acre of Cabernet Sauvignon that was poised to overshadow 2007. With rain in the forecast -- and boy did it come -- many down below had decisions to make. Those in warm spots, who farmed rigorously, scampered to bring in perfectly ripe clusters. Others elected to harvest before the grapes were fully mature (and suffered the consequences). But up here at 2100 feet, where the days are cooler than in the valley, and the nights warmer, the Cabernet still needed time. Rockledge, along with the greats of the mountain -- Dunn, O'Shaugnessy, Cade, and Cimarossa -- waited. That wait paid extravagant dividends.
In the beginning of the last week of October, just a few clusters per plant were harvested from these magnificent, terraced vineyards. The rain had ended 10 days before. The Napa sun returned, pushing sugars while ripening seeds, polishing up what would be marvelously silken tannins. The fruit that hit the Rockledge crusher was pristine -- as if the rain had never fallen.
This isn't just a 'solid' Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, with nice fruit and lots of dried flower overtones. Here, the rose petals are in the backdrop, for the moment simply overwhelmed by the blackberry/cassis concentration, the lavish purple fruit core, and the velour-like finish that all but obfuscates the sneaky tannins that will peak out in a couple years' time. $75/bottle on release. Why not? The big names of the mountain get far more, and the 2009 Rockledge Howell Mountain is playing on the same ball field.
Why so cheap? How can a $6500/ton Cabernet Sauvignon that spent 14 months in lots of new French oak (that goes for $1,000 a throw!) be offered today for less than thirty bucks on cases? Just today -- this once -- we're not telling.
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Tasting Notes
2009 Rockledge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
"Opaque purple/black to the edge. Explosive aromas of blackberries and ripe currants with rose petals in the backdrop. Rich and powerful on the attack, filled with crème-de-cassis and mountain blueberry preserves, velour-like in texture with the faintest hint of the supple tannin backbone that won't be coming out for another couple of years. Superb bottle for big, rich mountain Cabernet enthusiasts."
-- WineAccess Travel Log
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