Region | |
---|---|
Subregion | U.S.A. > California > Napa Valley |
Colour | Red |
Type | Still |
The 2017 Las Posadas shows just how compelling Howell Mountain can be. The combination of a mountain site and a high percentage of Franc yields a wine of tremendous energy and pure, raw power. Inky dark fruit, gravel, scorched earth and chocolate open first, followed by swaths of Howell Mountain tannin that give the wine its personality and drive. Time in the decanter brings out the wine's imposing depth and textural resonance. This is a gorgeous rendition of Las Posadas.
Beautiful stuff, the 2017 Capella offers a perfumed, complex style with lots of cassis and darker fruits as well as notes of white flowers, toasty oak, and tobacco. Rich and full-bodied, it has a rounded texture and the firmer tannins of the vintage. The balance is spot on, and it’s going to evolve gracefully for decades.
The 2017 Cappella Proprietary Red is just as concentrated as the 2016, but it shows even more interesting dark-fruit flavors. The fruit has soaked up any overt oak notes, leaving waves of super ripe cassis and black cherries to wash over the full-bodied palate, finishing long and velvety, with lingering notes of salted licorice.