Pope Valley ~ it
has been called Napa Valley's last frontier.
Just over the peak of Howell Mountain and alongside Pritchard Hill, this
is a place far less-traveled yet full of promise. When Xavier Cervantes was hunting for
properties in Napa, he looked in all the familiarly revered places in Napa for
vineyards; Oakville, Rutherford, Pritchard Hill, etc. The Mexico City entrepreneur got close to
capturing his dream property twice, once with a vineyard on Atlas Peak and once
on Howell Mountain, both which fell through at the 11th hour. It took seven long years, but after
exhausting all other possibilities, Cervantes discovered and purchased a
1,100-acre ranch. This hidden gem, in the far eastern reaches of Napa County
and at the edge of the county's viable viticultural land, is nestled in Pope
Valley. Although grapes have grown in
this part of Napa since the 19th century, it has never been named an American
Viticultural Area. Remote, rugged,
unspoiled, and picturesque, the area is rarely discussed and, amazingly, scarcely
developed. But as the Napa Valley floor
grows ever more crowded, and its land values skyrocket, interest has moved
outward. Like Coombsville, Napa's
youngest sub-AVA that was long neglected until a recent surge of awareness,
Pope Valley is the latest Napa region to rise from obscurity. It may also be Napa's last.
Cervantes' estate,
which he calls Hine Ranch, marks the highest-profile project yet to bottle an
estate Pope Valley wine made at a Pope Valley winery. Xavier hired winemaker Andy Erickson (Favia,
Dalla Valle, Mayacamas, Arietta, and formerly of Screaming Eagle and Staglin)
to join him on his spirited adventure and famed architect Howard Backen
(Harlan, Kenzo, Futo) to build the winery and equestrian center on the
property; all sharing the bold, singular dream to realize the full possibility
of the unsung terroir of Pope Valley and finally giving justice to one of
Napa's great landscapes.
Woven within the
1,100-acre ranch are gardens and orchards where wild turkeys, deer, and bear
roam free. And amongst all of this sits their five-acre hillside vineyard,
originally planted in 1998, and the source of the inaugural release of
Cervantes Cabernet. A blend of 76%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the deep
garnet-purple colored 2016 MMXVI Cabernet Sauvignon has gregarious notes of
warm red and black currants, black raspberries and warm plums with hints of
chocolate mint, pencil shavings and tilled loam plus a waft of lilacs. Full-bodied, firm and grainy, the palate is built
like a brick house with super ripe, super firm tannins and heaps of bold,
expressive, multifaceted fruit, finishing very long and mineral-laced. 545 cases produced.
