Hello Mountain Wine Club!
For your November shipment, we are delighted to share Napa Valley’s finest wines: 2023 Restricted Cabernet Sauvignon from Diamond Mountain, the 2023 Mt. Brave Cabernet Franc from Mount Veeder, and for our Mixed tier the 2024 Restricted Proprietary White Wine.
Fall in the vineyard marks the end of harvest. With the grapes picked, the vines begin to shut down, storing their reserves for winter dormancy. The leaves turn vibrant hues before falling, and vineyard crews turn their focus to soil care and preparing the vines for the next growing season. While the vines rest, the foundation for the next vintage quietly takes shape underground.
Made exclusively for the Mountain Wine Club, Restricted is an ever-evolving collection that allows the winemaking team to hand-select the vineyards, blocks, and rows according to vintage, quality, and preference. The Restricted Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from the Diamond Mountain AVA, where cool daytime temperatures, nutrient-poor soils, and steeply terraced vineyards create exceptional growing conditions. The 2023 vintage draws from the Wallis and Rhyolyte Vineyards, expressing the power and precision unique to this site. For our Mixed tier members, the 2024 Restricted Proprietary White Wine is an aromatic blend of Pinot Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Marsanne, and Albariño—each vinified separately to bring out their distinct personalities.
The 2023 Mt. Brave Cabernet Franc, recently awarded an exceptional 100-point score, is sourced from our estate Mt. Brave Vineyard, perched high atop Mt. Veeder at elevations ranging from 1,400 to 1,800 feet. While the mountain has been planted with winegrapes since the early 1860s, thick forests and craggy peaks limit vineyard acreage. The thin, rocky soils and steep slopes make water retention difficult, erosion a constant challenge, and farming labor-intensive, but the struggle is worth the reward. The vines produce intensely flavored berries with finely grained tannins and lively acidity.
We have continued to advance our farming practices and are now approaching regenerative accreditation. The quality of the fruit has reached a new level of excellence, while the vines have become more resilient without artificial treatments. Our team is incredibly proud to farm with methods that contribute to a better global climate, healthier land, and even more compelling wines—like the Restricted Cabernet Sauvignon and 100-point Mt. Brave Cabernet Franc that we are honored to share with you today.
Enjoy!
Peace,
Winemaker Chris Carpenter
