Howell at the Moon Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

2018 Vintage Notes

            The vintage was a return to typical moderate Napa Valley weather patterns, although the ongoing drought conditions persisted. Late rainfall helped moderate the drought impact and mild temperatures throughout the season without the extremes of heat, rain, drought, that we had contended with in years prior made for a fantastic growing year. Consistent warm weather during set and a good growing year the year prior gave us an abundant crop that we carried into the warm harvest without significant issues of heat or rain. Risk of smoke at the very end of harvest threatened picking decisions, but onshore winds kept smoke from adjacent counties away until a few days after harvest. We modified our winemaking in the cellar, as for the second year we relied on bottled air to complete fermentations, since the environment was plagued with smoke after harvest and we aggressively protected the wine from contamination.  Overall, the vintage is very reminiscent of those a decade earlier, ripe fruit with well ripened seeds and skins providing abundant color, flavor, texture and balance.