Anakota 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, Helena Montana, Knights Valley
Item Number: 13 20 320 18
Anakota 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, Helena Montana, Knights Valley
Rare Single Vineyard Cabernet from an exclusive Knight's Valley site.
Quick Taste
- 97+ Points!
- Pierre Seillan, 100 point winemaker!!
- "bursts from the glass with bold scents of fresh blackberries, black currants and mulberries"
- "this is a serious, captivating, incredibly impressive Cabernet"
- "You could put this beauty in a lineup of First Growth Bordeaux and it would do just fine."
About Anakota 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, Helena Montana, Knights Valley
Back in the late 1990s, the Jackson Family team started exploring new locations to grow Grand Cru-level Cabernet Sauvignon. Their goal was to find a site that could deliver the opulence and concentration of Napa coupled with the acidity, precision and age-worthiness of Sonoma. They found the perfect site in the Knights Valley AVA, a little-known wine region that earned AVA status in 1983. They named the ranch Anakota and in 1997 began surveying the terrain, analyzing the soils and planting vines.
Today, under the direction of Vigneron Pierre Seillan, they produce small quantities of single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons from two hillside estate vineyards: Helena Dakota and Helena Montana. Over his half-century of winemaking, Pierre has developed and refined his proprietary “micro-cru” farming/winemaking principles. Based on experience, observation, experimentation and intuition, this system considers that every vineyard is an intricate patchwork of soils, microclimates, exposures and elevations. Rather than treat each site as a single entity, Pierre divides each property into small blocks and sub-blocks. These vineyards-within-vineyards – often as small as one acre – are designed to mirror the subtle changes in the soils, terrain and microclimates. These micro-crus are farmed individually to ensure uniformly ripe grapes that bear the message of the soil. Each micro-cru is harvested and vinified separately. Two wines vinified from identical clones and rootstocks, but originating in radically different micro-crus, will produce radically different wines.
Running northeast to southwest at an elevation of 950 feet above sea level, the 60-acre Helena Montana vineyard is marked by rolling hills and steep benches that tilt up to 30 degrees. It features firm, dense, white/yellow gravelly loam soils that drain extremely well. The combination of hills, knolls and trees helps route cool, westerly winds away from the vines. Helena Montana Cabernets are concentrated and powerful with black fruit flavors, spice, minerals and muscular tannins.
100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 13 months in 90% new French oak barrels.
The Wine Advocate scored this 97+ points saying "Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard spent 12 months in 100% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it bursts from the glass with bold scents of fresh blackberries, black currants and mulberries plus suggestions of cedar chest, pencil lead, iron ore and truffles, with emerging wafts of crushed rocks and charcoal. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers firm, grainy, exquisitely ripe tannins and seamless freshness supporting layer upon layer of black fruits, finishing on a long-lingering fragrant earth note."
Jeb Dunnuck scored this 97 points saying "The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard hails from a single vineyard in Knights Valley located at 950 feet in elevation. It has a brilliant nose of savory red and black currants, dried herbs, saddle leather, and tobacco, with a decidedly Bordeaux-like vibe in both its aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied and nicely concentrated, with ripe tannins on the palate, this is a serious, captivating, incredibly impressive Cabernet that will shine for at least two decades. You could put this beauty in a lineup of First Growth Bordeaux and it would do just fine."
Today, under the direction of Vigneron Pierre Seillan, they produce small quantities of single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons from two hillside estate vineyards: Helena Dakota and Helena Montana. Over his half-century of winemaking, Pierre has developed and refined his proprietary “micro-cru” farming/winemaking principles. Based on experience, observation, experimentation and intuition, this system considers that every vineyard is an intricate patchwork of soils, microclimates, exposures and elevations. Rather than treat each site as a single entity, Pierre divides each property into small blocks and sub-blocks. These vineyards-within-vineyards – often as small as one acre – are designed to mirror the subtle changes in the soils, terrain and microclimates. These micro-crus are farmed individually to ensure uniformly ripe grapes that bear the message of the soil. Each micro-cru is harvested and vinified separately. Two wines vinified from identical clones and rootstocks, but originating in radically different micro-crus, will produce radically different wines.
Running northeast to southwest at an elevation of 950 feet above sea level, the 60-acre Helena Montana vineyard is marked by rolling hills and steep benches that tilt up to 30 degrees. It features firm, dense, white/yellow gravelly loam soils that drain extremely well. The combination of hills, knolls and trees helps route cool, westerly winds away from the vines. Helena Montana Cabernets are concentrated and powerful with black fruit flavors, spice, minerals and muscular tannins.
100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 13 months in 90% new French oak barrels.
The Wine Advocate scored this 97+ points saying "Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard spent 12 months in 100% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it bursts from the glass with bold scents of fresh blackberries, black currants and mulberries plus suggestions of cedar chest, pencil lead, iron ore and truffles, with emerging wafts of crushed rocks and charcoal. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers firm, grainy, exquisitely ripe tannins and seamless freshness supporting layer upon layer of black fruits, finishing on a long-lingering fragrant earth note."
Jeb Dunnuck scored this 97 points saying "The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard hails from a single vineyard in Knights Valley located at 950 feet in elevation. It has a brilliant nose of savory red and black currants, dried herbs, saddle leather, and tobacco, with a decidedly Bordeaux-like vibe in both its aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied and nicely concentrated, with ripe tannins on the palate, this is a serious, captivating, incredibly impressive Cabernet that will shine for at least two decades. You could put this beauty in a lineup of First Growth Bordeaux and it would do just fine."
Wine Details
- Alcohol % 14.5%
- Bottle Size 750 ml
- Wine Type Red
- Country United States
- Region California
- Appellation Sonoma
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