2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Helms Vineyards

(100% barrel-fermented): Good red-ruby color. Perfumed aromas of cherry, licorice and flowers. Smooth and broad, with lovely intensity and purity to its flavors of redcurrant, cherry, nutty oak and Rutherford dust. Finishes with slightly drying tannins. Winemaker Cameron Vawter presented the 2011s to me "in decreasing order of rainfall," noting that 2011 featured the latest harvest to date here.

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Helms Vineyard is super-polished, elegant and finessed. Rose petals, sweet red berries, licorice, mint and cinnamon all take shape in a delineated, vibrant Cabernet Sauvignon. Darker, wilder notes appear with time in the glass, adding an element of exoticism that is hugely appealing. In 2011, the Helms was fermented entirely in barrel rather in oak uprights as is typically the custom as yields were tiny. The 2011 spent 26 months in barrel, 100% new.

The medium ruby/purple-colored 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Helms Vineyard was picked between October 28 and November 3 (which gives you an idea of how late, cold and wet this growing season was) and is a shorter, more compact style of wine, no doubt because of the valley floor conditions. An herbal, earthy nose is backed up by some red and black currants as well as a touch of wood. Medium-bodied and smaller sized with less authoritative flavors, it should drink well for 10-12 years. Proprietor Hi Sang Lee has resurrected this once historic estate in Rutherford where the winery was first constructed in 1883 by H. W. Helms. There are four cuvees as of 2010, the Crystal Springs Vineyard on Howell Mountain, the Helms Vineyard in Rutherford, the Hershey Vineyard on Howell Mountain and the Lotus Vineyard in Napa Valley. They also produce a wine called Onda, which is meant to be a more forward styled, lower priced effort. Kudos to Hi Sang Lee and his son for resurrecting this historic estate. www.danaestates.com