O'Shaughnessy Estate has quickly become one of Napa Valley's most exciting producers, each year turning out exciting and age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Veeder  and a magnificent, full-bodied Bordeaux blend from Howell Mountain.  Both wines are highly acclaimed by the critics and will mature gracefully for 20 or more years.

We now have for you a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a gorgeous wine blended from the estate's vineyards at these two sites.  The power and majesty of Mt Veeder combines with the wild, savoury, plump fruit of Howell Mountain.

We have also been offered a small amount of Chardonnay from Betty O'Shaughnessy's home vineyard in Oakville, which is in the heart of Napa Valley and is considered by most to be "Cabernet country" - first come, first served.  This will arrive in approximately two months.

 

 

Some Oakville wineries produce Chardonnay - almost none grow it there, this is Cabernet country!  Betty O'Shaughnessy's backyard gives rise to this beautiful wine which is crafted at their facility on Howell Mountain.  It was fermented and aged sur lie for ten months in 32% new French oak barrels, 42% neutral French oak barrels and 26% stainless steel barrels.  The resulting wine is complex and layered and simply delicious.

"The 2014 Chardonnay, from O'Shaughnessy's estate vineyard in Oakville, is loaded with personality. Rich, ample and structured on the palate, the 2014 possesses superb depth and striking aromatic complexity throughout. Orchard fruit, flowers and white pepper are some of the scents that emerge from the glass, but it is the wine's overall feel that really impresses today."

 

 

Twenty-thirteen is one of the greatest vintages in Napa Valley's modern history rivaling, and perhaps besting, 1994, 2001 and 2012.  The Napa Valley Cabernet is a more supple wine than the two mountain cuvées.  Winemaker and President Sean Capiaux has used Merlot and Malbec from Howell to plump up the mid-palate while the Cabernet from these extraordinary vineyards provides the tannin and "the muscle".

"O'Shaughnessy's 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is once again one of the very best wines readers will find in its price range. A host of sweet red cherry, plum, blueberry, rose petal and mocha notes flesh out as this super-inviting, luscious Cabernet shows off its compelling and totally alluring personality. Merlot and Malbec both play significant roles in the blend and also give the wine a striking core of mid-palate sweetness to balance the firm mountain tannins. The Napa Valley Cabernet is a blend of fruit from estate vineyards on Howell Mountain (28%) and (72% from) Mt. Veeder."

 

 

The Howell Mountain Cabernet is modeled on Bordeaux - a meritage blend that utilizes all seven of the grapes allowable.  This is completely unheard of in Napa.  Heck, even the Bordelais don't use all seven grapes - usually three or four.

Twenty-twelve was a vintage that not only produced high-quality wines across Napa Valley but wines that are open, generous and drinkable now.  If the wine comes from Howell Mountain, it is also going to have the power and structure to age for two decades or more.

"This is black bear, mountain lion, and rattlesnake territory, and the wines often smell and taste of the rugged wild landscape that surrounds the small vineyards.  While I have been impressed by the deliciousness of both [wines], the Howell Mountain wine, with its deep, exotic spiciness, almost furry texture and vivid black fig, dark tobacco and cassis flavour, is the more hedonistic of the two. This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with small amounts of Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and the rare, ancient Bordeaux grape St Macaire. 2017-2032."

Of all Napa's mountain viticultural areas - Spring, Diamond, Howell, Atlas Peak; Mount Veeder is known for growing the most intense, reduced, ageworthy wines of them all.  The grapes here are grown on vineyards that you wouldn't believe even exist.  It is the most rugged, precarious and unwelcoming of terroirs.  Perhaps this struggle is the reason the wines here always attain such intensity and acclaim.

"The fabulous 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder is another glorious example of mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, its opaque purple colour is followed by a meaty, bloody, prime rib-like character intermixed with crème de cassis and floral notes. Deep, full-bodied, opulent and incredibly intense and pure, it is superb example of Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Veeder. Drink it now or cellar it for 20-25 years."