Hello Mountain Wine Club!
For every MWC shipment we hand select the wines to share with you, and the November shipment is always just a little more fun. We go through our cellar and choose from those bottles that we feel would be a perfect pairing for your holiday feasts or be the most impressive gift to give the wine lover on your list. We hope you enjoy this year’s selection as much as we do.
This shipment, we are bringing you extremely limited library selections from our mountain vineyards – the 2011 Mt. Brave Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2012 La Jota Vineyard Co. Howell Mountain Merlot. These two wines have been aging in our cellar and the time is perfect to enjoy them.
The 2011 growing season was a difficult one with cooler, wetter weather, however our Mt. Brave Vineyard was perfectly placed for success. As I wrote upon the vintage release, “That early morning sun, coming to the mountain vineyards without the shield of fog, kicks off the ripening process hours before its counterparts on the lower altitudes giving our vineyards a leg up on difficult conditions.”
In contrast, the following year in 2012 was near perfect, with ideal spring budbreak and warm steady days balanced by cool nights. These superb conditions continued into the fall, resulting in optimal ripening conditions at harvest.
As we reflect on the year gone by, and plan for the next, we wish you a very happy holiday season and hope to see you in Napa Valley soon.
Peace,
Winemaker Chris Carpenter
