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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 5 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by popasq on 7/13/2023 & rated 94 points: To me this is really excellent, great value as you are getting a bottle that compares favorably to some excellent Napa cabs at a fraction of the cost. (719 views) | | | Tasted by swestpha on 8/4/2022 & rated 92 points: I have been sitting on this wine for 3 years waiting to open a bottle. Although it is drinkable now I think it needs several more years in the cellar to show its best. Do not attempt to drink this without a serious decant of at least an hour and preferably longer. I will revisit this in a few years, but best to be patient for now. (1006 views) | | | Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 5/17/2022: For some reason this tastes just a touch medicinal. Or maybe that is really just bright cherry fruit showing off to it. And good structure to it as well too. Kinda darn good, if a touch young right now. But really intriguing to drink now. This is on day two. (1085 views) | | | Tasted by Man of the people on 12/9/2020 & rated 89 points: Nice quite enjoyable
Mid to upper mid level
Could be aged a couple more years
Rich
Great bouquet (3276 views) |
| By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (2/4/2019)
(Anakota Sonoma County Knights Valley Helena Dakota Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Red, United States) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Sonoma’s Stellar 2016s (Apr 2018) (4/18/2018)
(Anakota Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard Sonoma Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JamesSuckling.com and Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Anakota Producer website
As soon as you visit Anakota's website, the first words that you see make clear the winery's philosophy: Single Vineyard, Single Varietal, Single Appellation. Anakota is located in the Knights Valley appellation within the Sonoma Valley. Wines from the Knights Valley have been gaining in popularity over the past several years, as wine consumers are seeing the quality of the wines coming out of the area, as well as their distinct characteristics and structure. An ancient volcanic zone, both the soil and the microclimate are well-suited to Bordeaux varietals, especially Cabernet Sauvignon.
Anakota owns two estate vineyards in the Knights Valley, that they cultivate their Cabernet Sauvignon from: Helena Dakota and Helena Montana. Both sit on the flanks of the Mayacamas Mountain Range, with Mt. Saint Helena above them.
Anakota was founded by Pierre Seillan, who crafted the inaugural vinage in 2001. Seillan was born in the Gascony region of France and learned about terroir working in his family's vineyards in Armagnac. Pierre moved to California in 1998, and fell in love with Sonoma County, and specifically the Knights Valley, which he found to be a diamond in the rough. Although he produced many other wines within Sonoma using multiple grapes blended together, he saw that within the Knights Valley, and specifically the vineyards the he purchased, that 100% Cabernet Sauvignon would be the benchmark.
Although the two vineyards owned by Anakota, Helena Montana and Helena Dakota are near each other, separated only by a stream, they both have distinct characteristics and features.
The 12.4-acre Helena Dakota sits below Mount St. Helena’s two grandest peaks at 750 feet elevation. The site possesses a moderate micro-climate absent of extreme heat or cold and reddish-brown, gravel/silt loam soils intermingled with some volcanic rock. The Cabernet Sauvignon from Helena Dakota is large and dark with notes of espresso, chocolate, blackberries, cassis and wet stone.
Located at 950 feet above sea level, the 60-acre Helena Montana vineyard features rolling hills, undulating benches and severe slopes up to 30 degrees. The steep terrain is exposed to the cool maritime winds from the west. The hard, crusty soil restricts root development creating smaller, low-yielding vines. The Cabernet Sauvignon from Helena Montana is deep and elegant with ripe aromas of blueberries and black currants. It is a candidate for extended aging.
The wines from both of these vineyards have been receiving great ratings from the Wine Advocate in the last several vintages. This year, both vintages received excellent reviews with the Helena Dakota receiving a score of 98 Points, and the Helena Montana receiving a score of 96+ Points. To me, the most interesting and fun way to enjoy these wines would be in a compare and contrast situation. You can really get a great idea of what makes the vineyard plots different, since every other aspect of the wine, from the grapes to the winemaker to the barrel aging regimen are exactly the same. This is a pretty rare opportunity to see the effects of vineyard location and their own individual microclimates have on a wine.
Cheers!
Tracy Maxon
tracy@varmax.com
Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sonoma CountyMendocino County |
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