CADE - Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Estate’, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, USA (2018)

TASTING NOTES

The wine opens with aromas of clove, cranberry, raspberry, coffee, cinnamon, black pepper, and coco nibs. Gloriously pure notes of boysenberry, graphite, blackberry, coffee and dark chocolate soar from the glass and cascade over the palate. The wine is full-bodied, with an opulent, velvety texture, pure, rich with firm tannins and bold structure that is classic Howell Mountain.

CADE winery and vineyards were established on a virgin site at 1800 feet elevation on Howell Mountain. Of the estate’s 54 acres, 21 are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot. The vineyards have been farmed organically from the start and the winery itself was Napa’s first LEED Gold Certified estate winery. Winemaker is Danielle Cyrot, with experience in Alsace and Australia, her goal here is structured, but accessible Howell Mountain Cabernet.

With a guiding philosophy of environmental responsibility and a commitment to preserving a special spot atop Howell Mountain, partners Gavin Newson, Gordon Getty, and John Conover set about the winery construction and operation of a new estate that would complement their valley floor, Oakville estate, PlumpJack Estate Winery. These values were a priority and with this goal in mind, Napa Valley’s first LEED Gold Certified estate winery was completed in 2009.

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program is governed by the United States Green Business Council and their measurement for recognition is based off five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, material selection, and indoor environmental quality. Architect, Juan Carlos Fernandez, achieved this award with his use of recycled steel (the steel dining room table was built from the hull of a World War 2 submarine) and plastics; the building’s concrete contains fly ash, a coal by-product that reduces the use of cement; zero wood was used in the winery production to help guard against the transmission of TCA; hundreds of square feet of glass were installed for a well-lit working environment; solar panels were installed to minimise the use of electricity; recycled materials such as blue jeans were used in the insulation and many more innovative designs.

The environmental responsibility doesn’t stop at the winery. The estate, perched on top of Howell Mountain at 1,800 ft and above the fog line, went through an in-depth program of natural cultivation to convert the vineyards to organic farming practices. In 2012, Cade hired a dedicated winemaker, Danielle Cyrot. Danielle, with ancestral roots from Burgundy’s prestigious Côte de Beaune, graduated from California’s UC Davis earning a Bachelor of Science in Viticulture and Enology. She has worked abroad at wineries in Alsace and south Australia as well as stints in the Napa Valley at Schramsberg, Artesa and Stags’ Leap winery. Today, Danielle continues to craft high elevation cabernet sauvignon that articulates the intense, powerful character of the estate while maintaining a stunning balance between the mountain fruit, firm acidity, and judicious oak (Danielle has an array of barriques from up to 20 different coopers) for layered, complex and age ability wines.

In 2017, the Cade Estate was enlarged with the purchase of the old Ladera winery, now called 13^th Vineyard, a name inspired by its roots as the thirteenth bonded winery in the state of California dating back to the late 1800s. As the crow flies, this estate is ½ a mile over the mountain from Cade. The property gives the owners the opportunity to rediscover the past but also to allow future growth by evolving the production of Cade Estate driven wines, many of which are made in this historic winery.

As an homage to their first winery, the caves at Cade are designed in the shape of the PlumpJack shield. Additionally, it also takes its name from Shakespeare, who used the term to refer to the wine casks, or cades, shipped from Bordeaux to England during Elizabethan times. Its logo also traces back to the inception of the property, where a particular Manzanita tree is rooted in front of the winery building.