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Wine Information
The story
John Daniel, Jr., Renaissance gentleman and wine statesman, loved puns. In the late 1940’s one of his industry friends released a ‘Mountain Red’ wine. Daniel thought the name was amusing as the wine came from a rolling hillside vineyard, versus the precipitous mountain vineyards of Europe. That year he made an in-house wine at Inglenook called ‘Mole Hill Red’. The front label featured a mole with a magnifying glass checking a pile of dirt. The flowery back label concluded with “...and this is a wine you will truly GO FER!”
The vineyard
Today, Mole Hill is our three-acre Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard with loam soil approximately two feet deep. Planted in 1993, it is nestled beside a gorge on Howell Mountain at 1700 feet with a western exposure. The gorge acts as a vacuum pulling summer fog up from the valley floor, creating a unique microclimate for the vineyard. Small rocks are prolific and rise to the surface like cream in coffee. In combination with soil depth, this creates a spartan home for the vines, generating a concentration of flavors in the grapes.
The wine
“Very much in the style of our inaugural 2007 Mole Hill bottling, this wine clearly expresses the classic Howell Mountain characteristics of blackberries, Asian spices, dried herbs and dark chocolate. It has the firm but fine tannins often seen from the appellation, and ends with a cigar box and creamy vanillin finish, showing great finesse and the potential for longevity in the cellar.”
—Philippe Melka, Winemaker
Proprietors: The Lail Family –Robin, Jon, Erin and Shannon
The wine: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker: Philippe Melka
Production: 140 cases (bottled as 840 units of 2x750ml in bamboo box) 60 magnums 3 bottles of 3L
Vineyard: Mole Hill, Howell Mountain
Release: November 1, 2012
