Napa Valley Cabernet: Best Mount Veeder 2018 wines
The long 2018 harvest gave winemakers in Mount Veeder the opportunity to coax a softer side from their wines. Matthew Luczy looks at the vintage in this rugged region and selects his top wines...
At the southern end of the Mayacamas range, Mount Veeder is rugged, remote, and feels frozen in time compared to the valley floor beneath.
Steep slopes render tractors useless, and low yields from vineyards with twisted exposures are the norm.
Scroll down for the top-scoring Mount Veeder 2018 wines
It is the only mountain AVA with direct exposure to the San Pablo Bay, with Carneros at Veeder’s southern base.
Most vineyards reside above the fog line atop loam, shale, sandstone and fossilized seabed.
This combination of mountain structure and marine influence sets the region apart, producing broad shouldered wines that are forward and tannic but balanced with a floral, saline freshness.
Napa Valley Cabernet: Full 2018 vintage report
Chris Carpenter crafts both Mt Brave and a spectacular Lokoya bottling from Veeder. ‘The tannin is tremendously structural with lots of backbone. The wines maintain acid by way of its position to the San Pablo Bay. It’s a really easy place to work with in that way, knowing that I’ll maintain acidity.
‘The hard part is that the tannins can be really ponderous if I’m not careful. They can almost overwhelm some of the delicate, violet characters you can get.’
Quick links
Individual AVA analysis and top-scoring wines coming soon:
Calistoga, Coombsville, Howell Mountain, Oakville, Rutherford, St Helena, Stags Leap District
The growing season here is the longest in Napa, compounded by a vintage like 2018.
Harvests such as this offer an opportunity to coax a softer side from the mountain, which Sara and Jonah Beer of Pilcrow do through the Hillwalker site.
‘We think of Mount Veeder as being more on the elegant, feminine side of things compared to something like Howell Mountain. There is always this beautiful, granite minerality’ says Sara.
There is no more definitive producer than Mayacamas, with Progeny and O’Shaughnessy making riper but authentic examples. Mount Veeder Winery produces a lovely ‘value’ proposition.
See the best Mount Veeder 2018 wines
See also
Decanter Premium Collector’s Guide: Napa Valley
The rise of US urban wineries
California Cabernet 2016: Panel tasting results
Lokoya, Napa Valley, Mt Veeder, California, USA, 2018
There is a palpably regal quality to all four Lokoya wines, but the Mount Veeder Cabernet attains an additional level of purity and class. There...
2018
LokoyaNapa Valley
Brandlin, Estate, Napa Valley, Mt Veeder, California, USA, 2018
A perfumed, fresh nose filled with violets, lavender, black currants. The palate is plush, dense and precise, finishing with a purity and deftness that is...
2018
BrandlinNapa Valley
Brandlin, Henry's Keep, Napa Valley, Mt Veeder, California, USA, 2018
A deeper, darker, more soil-forward nose than the Estate Cabernet, with aromas of wet clay, graphite and oiled leather. A seamless, rich, black-fruited palate leads...
2018
BrandlinNapa Valley
Mt Brave, Napa Valley, Mt Veeder, California, USA, 2018
The winemaking precision of Chris Carpenter as his team is apparent across all their projects regardless of price point, making the Mt. Brave Howell Mountain...
2018
Mt BraveNapa Valley
Pilcrow, Hillwalker, Napa Valley, Mt Veeder, California, USA, 2018
The woodsy ruggedness typical of Mount Veeder is on display, albeit through a mellow, slow-burning lens. Black cherries, pomegranates and bay laurel on the nose....
2018
PilcrowNapa Valley
O'Shaughnessy Estate, Napa Valley, Mt Veeder, California, USA, 2018
A slick and condensed showing, with a rich, lavish nose of reduced black fruits and fresh brownies. The palate is loaded with ample purple fruits,...
2018
O'Shaughnessy EstateNapa Valley
Mount Veeder Winery, Napa Valley, Mt Veeder, California, USA, 2018
Mount Veeder offers a higher level of consistency and relative value across an impressive array of price points than other Napa mountain appellations. At the...
2018
Mount Veeder WineryNapa Valley
Darioush, Darius II, Napa Valley, Mt Veeder, California, USA, 2018
Broad, rich and opaque on the nose, qualities that carry through the texture. Sugary black fruits and tobacco leaves on the palate, where the mountain...
2018
DarioushNapa Valley
Bougetz, Ardante, Napa Valley, Mt Veeder, California, USA, 2018
Sourced from Yates Vineyard near the top of Mount Veeder. Roasted plums, redcurrants and cigar box aromas. Red-fruited and rustic on the palate with a...
2018
BougetzNapa Valley
