Howell Mountain – Howell Mountain Appellation – Single Vineyard
The Howell Mountain AVA is the only mountain single vineyard property from which we produce. It has a “cult” following; which means those that buy from this area are big fans of what this AVA has to offer. Dave nicknamed this vineyard “The Hand of God” because the nose of these wines is reminiscent of how the land and air smells when you are in this mountainous vineyard. It is as if God’s hand scooped up the dirt, the land, and the air and put the flavor and aroma into the wine.
East of St. Helena and with an elevation of at least 1,400 feet the Howell Mountain Appellation was approved in January of 1984. Daytime temperatures during the growing season can be as much as ten degrees cooler than those of the valley, protecting vines from the heat stress that typically weakens activity. The warmer night temperatures, on the other hand, allow vines on the mountain to reach a temperature of fifty-five degrees, at which photosynthesis can occur almost as soon as the sun is up, especially because the fog that creeps up the valley from San Francisco Bay each night leaves the mountain’s summit untouched. Well drained, nutrient-poor soils, and rugged hillside conditions yield wines with great intensity.
The Soil type is chalky. At about 60′, there is a large amount of bedrock. The vines grow into this soil profile giving us a very earthy character. The vines are 5′ x 7′ pacing with a vertical shoot placement system for trellising. We grow three varietals on Howell: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The row alignment is East-West. Bud break on Howell Mountain is later than on the valley floor, and ripeness is not usually until the end of October. Yields are small, 1.5-2.0 tons per acre.
The big monster on the hill. Not for the faint of heart. This big bold black fruit is intense on the nose, palate and finish. Considered the perfect combination of New World power and intensity with Old world rocky minerality and earth tones. Focused Blackberry aromas yield to a liquor like front palate, an intense mid-palate party in your mouth dazzling concentrated blue fruit, and the finish seems to have a dissolving tannin giving the standing ovation of all finishes of a minute plus of flavor after consumption.
Our Howell Mountain wines are undeniably the biggest and robust offerings of all our single vineyard Cabernet vineyards but still has the “silky” style that Del Dotto is known for. The wines offer firm tannin with amazing, rich fruit and age incredibly.
We produce two wines from Howell Mountain: 100% Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and our Howell Mountain David, a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. We make a very limited number of barrels of these wines and they go quickly.