The AVA
Knights Valley is a remote winegrowing region bridging Sonoma and Napa Counties. It’s an untamed landscape defined by rugged mountains, steep hillsides, placid meadows and abundant wildlife. Even though this AVA has produced some of the world’s greatest wines, it is still a mystery to most. Set along the flanks and foothills of Mount St. Helena and the Mayacamas Mountains, this rustic sanctuary possesses the sparse volcanic soils and ideal climate needed to produce elegant, profound and age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignons.
The Vineyard
Running southwest to northeast at an elevation of 950 feet above sea level, the 60-acre Helena Montana vineyard is marked by rolling hills and steep benches that tilt up to 30 degrees. It features firm, dense, white/yellow gravelly loam soils that drain extremely well. The combination of hills, knolls and trees helps route cool, westerly winds away from the vines. Helena Montana Cabernets are concentrated and powerful with black fruit flavors, spice, minerals and muscular tannins.
The Vintage
A vintage marked from the outset by excessive winter rainfall, 2019 began with our soils holding abundant moisture and well equipped for the Knights Valley growing season. Cabernet Sauvignon budbreak occurred throughout early to mid-April, and the growing season proceeded with above average warmth, with heat spikes throughout July, August, and September. Harvest began in late September, and the resulting wines are concentrated and focused, with ample richness.
Winemaking
Over his half-century of winemaking, Pierre has developed and refined his proprietary “micro-cru” farming/winemaking principles. Based on experience, observation, experimentation and intuition, this system considers that every vineyard is an intricate patchwork of soils, microclimates, exposures and elevations. Rather than treat each site as a single entity, Pierre divides each property into small blocks and sub-blocks. These vineyards-within-vineyards – often as small as one acre – are designed to mirror the subtle changes in the soils, terrain and microclimates. These micro-crus are farmed individually to ensure uniformly ripe grapes that bear the message of the soil. Each micro-cru is harvested and vinified separately. Two wines vinified from identical clones and rootstocks, but originating in radically different micro-crus, will produce radically different wines.
Tasting notes
The 2019 Helena Montana is characteristically powerful & complex on the nose, showing ripe red and black cherry, along with dried herbs de Provence, and subtle hints of toasted clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg spices. The palate is loaded with structure and complexity, showing concentrated fruit and non-fruit flavors, framing a powerful core of firm tannin and juicy acidity. The finish is very long, and balanced.