Arkenstone, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge fan of Arkenstone wines. I’ve visited the winery, walked the vineyards, and was so pleased to taste today in Orlando along with Jake Krausz, Estate Director. The 2015s are showing extremely well, from Sauvignon Blancs aged in oak with extensive time on the lees, to Cabernet Sauvignons that are both sophisticated and supple young, but with structure to age. All of the wines showed the balance of power and finesse that marks meticulous winemaking out of exceptional fruit. I loved them all.
Up on Howell Mountain
Arkenstone Estate rises from 1400 ft. to more than 1650 ft. of elevation with a 13-acre vineyard growing mostly traditional Bordeaux varietals using organic farming practices. With the Howell Mountain AVA sitting above the fog during peak growing season, there’s lots of sunlight to ripen the grapes, but the high elevation, dry climate, and volcanic soils produce smaller clusters and berries with lower yields than their valley floor counterparts. This allows for really gorgeous fruit, used to make wines that are powerful, but elegant. Add the thoughtful winemaking of Sam Kaplan and you’ve got a selection of lovely, well-balanced wines that are approachable young, but with the structure age beautifully. While I personally haven’t had anything more than 7 years old, I’m holding on to a handful of back vintages hoping for the patience to let some bottles come to maturity before I consume.
The Wines
Arkenstone produces four wines in their basic lineup: a Sauvignon Blanc and a Cabernet labelled NVD (both 100% and both Napa Valley designated) and bottlings of their Estate Sauvignon Blanc (this time with a little Semillon in the mix) and Estate Red (primarily Cabernet, but with a blend of the other Bordeaux varietals.) In very limited quantities, they’ve bottled specified blocks and even a Syrah, but I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting those wines so I can’t really speak much about them. I have lots of experience tasting and drinking their four primary bottlings, so those will be the ones I focus on today.
If I’m going to be honest, my love affair with Arkenstone wines began with their Sauvignon Blanc, it was a game changer for me.
Arkenstone Sauvignon Blanc NVD
100% Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley, this is a bright and lush version of what great California Sauvignon Blanc can taste like. Very crisp with high acidity, I get loads of peaches and minerality, but with a rich texture that is indicative of the winemaking process. They ferment their Sauvignon Blanc in new French oak, used French oak, and concrete egg, then let it age on its lees for almost a year in vessel before bottling and letting it age even longer. Not a lot of winemakers make Sauvignon Blanc this way, and from what I hear, there’s no-one else in Napa even using the same clone of Sauv Blanc as Arkenstone.
Arkenstone Estate Sauvignon Blanc
I love the NVD Sauv Blanc, but the Estate is simply a stunner and a real example of the difference terroir and blending make. The process for the Estate is the same as the NVD, fermented 1/3 new French oak, 1/3 used French oak, and 1/3 concrete egg, aged 11 months sur-lie, then aged 18 months in bottle before release. Using grapes only from the Howell Mountain Estate vineyards, this wine is not 100% SB like the NVD, they add a little Semillon to the mix. The 2014 I tasted today had just 7% Semillon (the estate uses around 6-8% depending on vintage) and the blend as well as the source of the fruit makes for a dramatic change in the wine. Where the NVD was bright and lively, the Estate is richer, more complex, and I hate to sound like a pretentious wine snob here, but more “serious.” This is white wine to ponder over. Yellow-gold with a silvery rim, I was struck first with the aroma of flowers (most likely from the addition of Semillon,) honeysuckle, papaya, kiwi, melons, pineapple, almonds… the list could go on and on. There was still a hint of minerality coming through, but overall this wine had a luscious, almost creamy texture. I don’t really care for scores and ratings, but I read somewhere that the Arkenstone Estate Sauvignon Blanc is the highest rated domestic SB, and I wouldn’t doubt it.
Arkenstone Cabernet Sauvignon NVD
Using grapes from other high elevation vineyards in Napa (Calistoga, Howell Mountain, Pritchard Hill, and Soda Canyon) this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is a delight, and not overblown like lots of Napa Cabernet. It spends 22 months in new French oak, and while this wine has the structure to age (and I look forward to trying these again with some years under their belt) it remains a really approachable bottle to open and enjoy young. Black cherries, blackberry, blueberry, and a touch of baking spice is supported by nice acidity and relatively soft tannins.
Arkenstone Proprietary Red
100% Howell Mountain fruit from the Estate vineyards, this is a blend of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. The 2015 in my glass today was 74% CS, 10% PV, 8% CF, 4% Merlot and 4% Malbec, but the blend varies by vintage. It too spends 22 months in new French oak and is aged at least a year in bottle before release. This is what I consider a big-boy Napa Cabernet, spicy blackberries, fruitcake, sweet tobacco, earth, with a backbone of solid tannins and acidity to hold it up for a long rest in a cellar somewhere. To be honest, with some decanting, this wine is delicious now, but it really needs some time to come into its own. Like the rest of Napa, this is quality wine that does not come cheaply, but if you are looking for a really elegant bottle of California Cabernet, it will not disappoint.