Napa Valley is known the world over for fine cabernet sauvignon. Vineyards here are blessed with a great diversity of soils and microclimates and express their distinct personalities through remarkable wines. We blend our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from special spots throughout the region, including the renowned cab appellations of Rutherford and Oakville, which impart classic Napa Valley bold fruit intensity, as well as the warmer Calistoga area to the north and the cooler southern reaches of the Suscol watershed, which contribute layers of complexity and depth of flavor.
This wine reveals a fragrant, complex bouquet of ripe blackberry and boysenberry complemented by notes of dark chocolate and toasty oak. Rich and smooth on the palate, the sumptuous dark fruit is balanced by fresh acidity and lush tannins with a lingering, elegant finish and a hint of minerality.
Our Napa Valley Merlot displays deep aromas of blackberry and black cherry with a background of crushed stone and violet. Concentrated flavors of fresh blackberry and black plum are balanced by fine tannins and fresh acidity. A lingering rich black cherry finish with a note of minerality rounds out this complex and elegant Merlot.
This Merlot comes from our estate vineyards throughout Napa Valley, including our Suscol Springs Ranch in the cooler southeastern reaches. We also include grapes from our warm, nutrient-rich valley floor vineyard in Rutherford. The diversity of these Merlot vineyard sites enables us to craft a wine that highlights the best of the varietal; deep fruit flavors, silky mouthfeel, bright acidity, and refined elegant tannins.
Our goal with Dancing Bear is to capture the intense mountain character of fruit from this unique site, perched high above northern Napa Valley on the steep, rugged slopes of Howell Mountain. Small-lot winemaking allows our winemaker to monitor extraction during fermentation so that each lot achieves just the right balance between fruit and tannin. Aging in French oak barrels-predominantly new oak-adds depth to this remarkable wine.
"This big, dramatic wine has become a cult classic among lovers of Howell Mountain cabernet sauvignon, including the bears who call this high-elevation estate home. This wine offers generous aromas of black cherry and fig that carry over onto a concentrated, fleshy palate." — Dennis Cakebread
