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Wine Description
The Story
This gently sloping site is relatively cool, and is protected from the intensity of the late afternoon heat during the height of the growing season. The gravelly loam soils provide excellent drainage and wonderful fruit purity. Helms Vineyard Cabernet displays the classic profile of the Rutherford Bench: dark fruit, richly layered with a touch of spice and earth. The finely grained “dusty” tannins so prevalent in the appellation are integrated and harmonious, producing a wine of sophistication and depth.
Dana's commitment to converting our vineyards to dry-farming continues to show positive results. Dry farming encourages the roots to dig deep for water, and increases their ability to with stand heat events. As a result the vines produce wines that are more vibrant and representative of the terroir. The even temperatures over the summer and fall ripened the vineyard evenly, allowing the team to harvest all of Helms in only two days. They started with the clone 337 on October 9th. The SEE clone in front of the winery was picked the next day on October 10th. Both picks were fermented in upright oak tanks. The fruit was macerated for 35 days. After native yeast fermentation the wines were pressed directly to barrel, where native malolactic fermentation took place.
Wine Information
The 2013 vintage marks the start of a prolonged dry period in Napa. With only 6-8 inches of rain all year, total rainfall was approximately 80% less than 2012. Most of the rain we received fell in March and April. With such a dry season we removed our cover crops early, so that any water in the soil would be left for the vines. While there were a few heat spikes in July, August, and September, the average temperatures were moderate allowing the grapes to ripen fully while retaining structure and acidity. There was a little rain on September 21st, but the dry windy conditions kept the moisture of being any concern to fruit quality. October followed with perfect ripening conditions. The warm days helped the vines through the final stages of flavor and tannin development. The below average night time temperatures helped to retain the acidity in the grapes.
