Mission Codename High beginning
We’re freaking out.
Normally we’re a calm bunch, but we’re in a FRENZY, doing the math again and again.
Let’s do it together.
A favorite producer. A top Napa Valley enclave. The bucolic St. Helena AVA. A Cab blend from a single vineyard. A terrific vintage rated 98 points by Vinous and Wine Advocate as “the best, most consistent Napa Valley vintage among a string of five great years…” And a whopping 65% OFF retail on top?
Does not add up now, does it?
Well, seize the day, we did, and here it is…
Oh, and Battuello is not your ‘average’ Napa vineyard either. Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is the only other winery that makes one, for $115, explaining “We are fortunate to source grapes from some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon growers in the Napa Valley. To honor the vineyards that stand out, each year we will produce the Distinguished Vineyards wines… we chose Battuello Vineyard in St. Helena as one of those vineyards because of their rich history and commitment to quality.”
The truth is in the bottle. This offers up some exuberant cassis, blueberry, and açaí berry aromas with a rounded, fleshy feel and a back-end dripping with cocoa-dusted cherries, licorice, and cardamom notes. For fans of the classic Napa style, it has everything one could hope for and then some. No doubt, in part thanks to its lush, giving vintage.
Topel’s proprietor/winemaker Martin Bernal-Hafner too has the chops; from his early start working with the famed Chapoutier in France, and then to Viña Cobos in Mendoza where he worked under the legendary Paul Hobbs. After that, he returned back to Sebastopol and continued working with Paul Hobbs before venturing into his own projects.
Again. Single vineyard Napa Cab blend from St. Helena for $33. Seriously?
So, you got it. What else can we say, back the truck up!
What the Winery Says
2016 'Alta Orsa' Library Collection St. Helena Cabernet Blend
- Winemaker
- Mark Topel
- Vintage
- 2016
- Varietals
- 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Petite Sirah, 1% Petit Verdot
- Alcohol
- 14.4%
- Appellation
- St. Helena, Napa Valley
- Total acidity
- 6 g/L
- pH
- 3.75
- Aging
- 36 months
- Barrels
- 40% new French oak
- Production
- 6 barrels