2020 Kukeri Proprietary Red Blend Howell Mountain 750 ml

Our ride with winemaker Petar Kirilov to the famous high-elevation Howell Mountain vineyard behind this bottling was a roller coaster.

We were, of course, quite literally going up, climbing curving roads that lead to some of the highest-altitude plots in all of Napa. Here, iconic names like O’Shaughnessy, La Jota, Viader, and Dunn produce red wines that are among the most massive and powerfully built anywhere in the world.

But the higher we went, we realized with sinking spirits, the smaller the allocation we were likely to get. This mountain region is beloved for precisely the way it forces vines to struggle, limiting yields while supercharging concentration—leading to a total production of just seven barrels of this cuvée!

The NDA-protected site Petar tapped for today’s wine is home to sun-splashed vineyard rows that sit above the fog line, buffeted by stiff winds in a microclimate several degrees colder than the valley floor.  

The rocky, poor soils of this hallowed vineyard do just enough to keep the bush-shaped vines alive, forcing them to push all their energy into the production of grapes chock-full of dark berries, cassis, and dark chocolate, as well as muscular, elegant tannins. 

The small clusters of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot that Petar was lucky enough to source boast high skin-to-juice ratios, helping lend this wine its dark hue and fantastic intensity.   

Petar dialed up the premium treatment in the cellar: cold-soaking, followed by a 16-day fermentation with punchdowns, followed by additional time for extended maceration. Aged on the fine lees for 19 months in French oak barrels, it’s got Left Bank sophistication and a power that is Howell Mountain’s alone.