Napa Valley Cabernet: Best St Helena 2018 wines

St Helena is the warmest valley floor region, with limited access to marine layer and ocean breeze.

Shaped like an hourglass, it is the narrowest section of the valley, thus trapping warm daytime temperatures.

Scroll down for the top-scoring St Helena 2018 wines

Soils are extremely varied, but gravel loam makes up much of the soil in the southern portion, with volcanic deposits in the north.

Celebrated and singular winemaker Cathy Corison established her namesake label here in 1987. Her estate vineyards, Kronos and Sunbasket, although in the St Helena AVA, sit on what is known as The Rutherford Bench.

Corison says, ‘Rutherford Bench is an old term. When I started making the Corison Cabernets, there were no sub-AVAs. It was the benchland between Oakville and St Helena that had always been very special.’

Napa Valley Cabernet: Full 2018 vintage report

‘This is the warmest part of the valley, so the grapes ripen on the early side. I pick early, even on early sites, which promotes lignification of the seeds so the tannins are like velvet. They come out of the vineyard that way. There’s nothing I can do about it.’

The low-and-slow nature of the vintage played perfectly into her hands, saying ‘I’m sure you’ve heard it over and over, but it was the perfect long season. In fact, it was kind of like 2011 in that way except without the rain.’

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Individual AVA analysis and top-scoring wines coming soon:

Calistoga, Coombsville, Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, Oakville, Rutherford, Stags Leap District

Intensity and suppleness are unifying factors in the wines, with an elegant persistence to the tannins.

Corison, Merryvale, Spottswoode and Hourglass’ Estate bottlings are particularly classic examples of this diverse region.

See the top-scoring St Helena 2018 wines

See also

Decanter Premium Collector’s Guide: Napa Valley 

California Cabernet 2016: Panel tasting results

Must see Napa and Sonoma wineries: Five new openings from old favourites