First, a little birdie told us the 2021 vintage from Hawk & Horse, our top-selling winery of all time, is shaping up to be their best ever. With a little more patience, some hardcore negotiation tactics, and a bit of luck, we’ll land those soon.

But L@@K what we found in the meantime. As it turns out, this might be the next best seller from their backyard!

Domaine Helena is positioned to become the next hot “Not Napa” Cabernet we had never heard of? Quote us on that. After you taste this, of course…

With 94 points from Wine Enthusiast and at a $30 price, this seems primed to shoot up the charts. Trust your Agents of Wine! This is a must buy for the masses!

Domaine Helena, and their Mount St. Helena Vineyard are truly special. JUST 5 MILES as the crow flies over the hill from Napa Valley, on the foothills of (thankfully) long-dormant Mount St. Helena, the second highest peak of the Mayacamas range. It’s basically a continuation of Calistoga’s prized terroir here even though we’re technically “in the Middletown of nowhere,” Lake Co.

The place is so complete for Cabernet that there’s a Mount St. Helena appellation in the works. The force behind it is André Guéziec, the owner of Domaine Helena. According to Lake County Winegrowers “Growing up in the renowned Alsace wine region of France, André Guéziec’s journey led him from his childhood roots to owning and operating Domaine Helena in Lake County, California. The journey was anything but linear. His was a leap of faith from Silicon Valley’s fast-paced tech world to acquiring 225 acres of established vineyard property nestled in the quiet, rural outskirts of Middletown, California. Life has a way of bringing us home to our roots.”

Back to this wine - in the glass it’s spicy, peppery, bursting with black currant, cassis, and jammy blackberry fruit. Marvelously dense and deep, but also retaining a beautiful freshness and purity of fruit, it flashes all sorts of complex nuances to make it a mesmerizing and memorable pour. Tannins are muscular enough to age effortlessly for decades, but it’s so alluring why wait?

So, come take a flyer with us on the “other” side of the mountain where altitude rules, not attitude. And styles that cost a fortune in Napa can be had for a song…

Not much is made, and sadly not much was left when we discovered this beauty.

94 Points – Wine Enthusiast “This wine is rich, with aromas of black currant confiture, blackberry, cardamom, violet, and vanilla spice on the nose. The flavors on the palate are blackberry, cassis, and simmering spices, morphing into lingonberry, grilled orange, black licorice, vanilla cream, and a silky finish. Pair with grilled ribeye steak and purple mashed potatoes.”