The top-rated Spence Cabernet ever on CellarTracker (as well as one of their top Howell Mountain Cabernets ever). Here are a couple of reviews:
Bid on and won a bottle this wine at the Taste of Howell Mtn. Awesome velvety mouthful of fruit with earthy elements in support. Tannins in check and should hold it for some time. Excellent wine and the highlight of the event!
So just what is it that makes this, in our view (and that of many insiders, like the French Laundry), THE supreme Howell Mountain Cabernet? It’s the vineyard, of course.
As Spence explains, two factors make their tiny Howell Mountain (planted by their friend Randy Dunn, by the way) supreme:
- The location of Spence Vineyards’ is unique – we are on the knoll of a hill above a canyon that opens to the Napa Valley floor. First, the temperature inversion that occurs, as the valley warms, generates a consistent but gentle breeze that blows from early afternoon until dusk. A warm breeze creates a convection effect that bathes the grapes in circulating air that is not felt a few hundred yards to either side of our vineyard. This consistent breeze thickens the skins to better prevent evaporation which leads to a higher skin to pulp ratio for extraction of more color and intensity. The cooler days extend hang time (typically a month longer than the valley floor) to allow grapes to achieve fully structured ripe tannins.
- The second factor is the surface layer of red volcanic soil. Known to be rather shallow on most of Howell Mountain, in our vineyards it is actually quite deep and laced with rocks. This condition drains the soil rapidly forcing the vines to chase the water deeper into the ground and develop a large root system, thus extracting more intensity from the soil.
This volcanic soil pushes the Cabernet towards deeply satisfying dark fruit aromas and flavors, even while the wine retains a remarkable balance, breed and poise.
As Matt Kramer explains (and many people don’t recognize), what sets Howell Mountain apart from all the other Napa mountain AVAs is (at least potentially) the sheer beauty of its wines. And NO other Howell Mountain Cabernet captures this sheer beauty as Spence does.
And no Spence Cabernet captures it like this supremely gorgeous 2015.
There are a lot of very famous (even $500 and 100-point) Napa Cabernets that just don’t move us (and I would imagine wouldn’t move most tasters) as this one does.
It’s quite simply as wonderful as Howell Mountain (or Napa, or American) Cabernet gets.