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Feature Article
The personalities of Ladera’s Cabernets are as different as their origins, from opposite ends of the Napa Valley.
Howell Mountain ~ Napa Valley (AVA)
Talking Terroir with Pat Stotesbery of Ladera
"Some people love the elegance of the Howell Mountain and others the dark tannins of the Lone Canyon. If you would blend them together, you’d lose that sense of place."
by
Alan Goldfarb
September 13, 2006
Ladera Vineyards is owned and run by Pat Stotesbery, with the capable assistance of Karen Culler, Stotesbery’s winemaker for the last seven years. Under their direction, Ladera makes two Cabernet Sauvignons, one from Howell Mountain – high in the eastern hills of the Napa Valley overlooking St. Helena – and the other from Lone Canyon, which is situated high in the western hills above Yountville.
The two wines are easily differentiated. The Howell Cab is more elegant with a lot of finesse, while the Lone Canyon is as big, closed and tannic as one would expect from such a rugged terrain. And yet, when they are tasted side-by-side, the wines are definitive examples of terroir.
Stotesbery bought the 480-acre box canyon parcel in 1997. It is only about 15 percent planted, mostly to Cabernet. The Howell Cab he calls “a gentleman,” while he terms the Lone Canyon wine “our cowboy.” Stotesbery should know. He is a former Montana rancher, who still sports a wide-brimmed Stetson.
Stotesbery does produce a Napa Valley designated Cab, that sells for $35 which is a blend of the two vineyards. In spite of this, he is steadfast about making wines that separate the place of origin of the two principal wines. Thus, Culler makes a Howell Mountain-designate, and a Lone Canyon, both of which sell for $65 each.
To get to Lone Canyon, one leaves the valley floor west of Yountville at the entrance to Domaine Chandon, and treks past Dominus and then above Blankiet to where the Lone Canyon vines – some as old as 22 years – cling to the hillside at elevations from 400 to 1,100 feet.
Ladera’s distinctive Cabernets are now available in the Appellation America online wine store.
Buy yours here!
There is no winery or tasting room here and one has to get through a series of locked gates before coming upon the very isolated and private property.
Once one reaches the vineyard over switchback roads, the parcel climbs and falls on inside and outside terraces that overlook, while still being in, the Yountville American Viticuture Area (AVA).
In a recent phone conversation, Stotesbery spoke in detail with Appellation America’s Napa Valley correspondent Alan Goldfarb about why he makes these two wines; and what accounts for their differences.
The two wines are easily differentiated. The Howell Cab is more elegant with a lot of finesse, while the Lone Canyon is as big, closed and tannic as one would expect from such a rugged terrain. And yet, when they are tasted side-by-side, the wines are definitive examples of terroir.
Stotesbery bought the 480-acre box canyon parcel in 1997. It is only about 15 percent planted, mostly to Cabernet. The Howell Cab he calls “a gentleman,” while he terms the Lone Canyon wine “our cowboy.” Stotesbery should know. He is a former Montana rancher, who still sports a wide-brimmed Stetson.
Stotesbery does produce a Napa Valley designated Cab, that sells for $35 which is a blend of the two vineyards. In spite of this, he is steadfast about making wines that separate the place of origin of the two principal wines. Thus, Culler makes a Howell Mountain-designate, and a Lone Canyon, both of which sell for $65 each.
To get to Lone Canyon, one leaves the valley floor west of Yountville at the entrance to Domaine Chandon, and treks past Dominus and then above Blankiet to where the Lone Canyon vines – some as old as 22 years – cling to the hillside at elevations from 400 to 1,100 feet.
Ladera’s distinctive Cabernets are now available in the Appellation America online wine store.
Buy yours here!
There is no winery or tasting room here and one has to get through a series of locked gates before coming upon the very isolated and private property.
Once one reaches the vineyard over switchback roads, the parcel climbs and falls on inside and outside terraces that overlook, while still being in, the Yountville American Viticuture Area (AVA).
In a recent phone conversation, Stotesbery spoke in detail with Appellation America’s Napa Valley correspondent Alan Goldfarb about why he makes these two wines; and what accounts for their differences.
Alan Goldfarb (AG): Why make wines from two different areas?
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