2022 Arkenstone Estate Red Blend Howell Mountain

WP99 The 2022 Estate Red Blend is composed of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Malbec. Most of this was harvested on September 3rd and 5th, before the heatwave that year, with a little coming in on September 14th. Deep garnet-purple colored, it prances out with showy notes of Morello cherries, mulberries, and crushed black currants, slowly revealing wafts of violets, pencil shavings, and rusty nails. The full-bodied palate is bright and vibrant with stacks of red and black fruit flavors, supported by a firm, grainy tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing long and fragrant. Gorgeous!
WA96 Arkenstone’s 2022 Howell Mountain Estate Red Blend—a Bordeaux-style blend led by Cabernet Sauvignon but with small proportions of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot—features some rather assertive barrel-char scents, plus pine needles, cherries and dusty earth notes. It’s full-bodied, rich and approachable but structured, with varied layers of texture. Like some of the other 2022s from Arkenstone, it might finish just a little warm to some palates, but it remains long and remarkably elegant.
JD96 A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, and 3% Malbec, all aged 22 months in 100% new French oak, the 2022 Estate Red from Arkenstone is classic in every way, delivering ripe red and black fruits, new leather, floral nuances, and hints of loamy earth. Medium to full-bodied, balanced, and incredibly complete, with ripe tannins and impeccable integration, it’s a stunning, classically styled wine built for the long haul.

Since inception in 2006, winemaker is Sam Kaplan.

Arkenstone Estate is perched high on the west-facing slopes of Howell Mountain. It’s a breathtaking property that has been farmed organically since day one, and you’ll find Sam in the vineyard tending to vines as often as in the cellar. It takes this unerring level of commitment to build such a high reputation, and produced wines of this quality.

Lisa Perrotti-Briown:
Sam Kaplan is the winemaker for a number of top estates in Napa Valley, including Arkenstone, Vangone, Momento Mori, and Vida Valiente (where he is also a partner). Anyone who loves Sam Kaplan’s winemaking style knows that he tends to harvest on the earlier side of the ripeness window. He is usually the first to call the pick at Dr. Crane, which has become something of a heads-up to other winemakers with skin in that game. “When Napa people talk about a tough year, they tend to talk about 2011,” said Sam as I sat to taste his 2022s. “But 2022 was legit tough. You had to really be on your stuff. You had to be ahead of the game. I like freshness, so I tend to pick early. In 2022, that really paid off. A lot of my early ripening sites got harvested when they would have been harvested anyway. It had been dry, and there wasn’t a ton of crop to ripen. As soon as I saw the heat coming, I looked for what could be picked, and I got picking. Thank God I trusted my gut!” Sam said misting and shade cloths were highly beneficial for the later-ripening sites. This isn’t to say that everything could be saved. “We couldn’t make Vida Valiente High Ranch from Coombsville in 2022,” conceded Sam. “The vineyard just didn’t perform well.”