96pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana offers chocolate, sweet black cherries, a dense purple color, great intensity and purity – a real mountain style, but with surprisingly soft tannins. It is easily a 30-year wine. The good news is that there are 520 cases of this big, boisterous, yet voluptuously textured offering from Anakota.

96pts International Wine Review

The Helena Montana Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is an absolute knockout in this vintage. The vineyard sits at 950ft and runs northeast to southwest on the eastern side of Highway 128. Its proximity to the hills, knolls and trees, routes cool, westerly winds away from the vines, and vines perpendicular to the prevailing winds provides even more protection. The wine itself is simply stunning as it opens to striking aromas of ripe blackberries and dark currents woven together with graphite, mocha and hints of loamy minerality. This full-bodied red displays remarkable depth and concentration with outstanding overall balance, as it is focused around dense ripe dark fruits at its core. While already incredibly appealing, I expect this sensational Cabernet will evolve gracefully for many years to come.

93pts Vinous

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana is a dark, powerful wine. Graphite, exotic spice, crème de cassis, menthol, licorice and plums are some of the notes that meld together in a powerful, jammy Cabernet Sauvignon that balances concentration, striking aromatics and a very classic sense of Knights Valley minerality. Give this sumptuous, opulent 100% Cabernet Sauvignon at least a few years in bottle and drink it over the next decade or so.

Winemaker Notes

Lush, velvety and opulent, Helena Montana chronicles the terroir at this steep, Knights Valley hillside site. The signature attributes include blackberries, currants, violets, chocolate, spice and licorice. The palate offers deep, expansive flavors supported by soft, silky tannins. While Helena Montana typically shows well in its youth, it is a wine that will expand and improve with age. Made with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Vineyard Notes

Distinctive soil and notably cooler temperatures than those found in adjacent vineyards best define the growing conditions for this Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. We planted our Helena Dakota Vineyard on the foothills of Mount St. Helena which rises more than 4,000 feet above sea level. This distinctive, two-peaked mountain remains the heart of an ancient volcanic zone responsible for the complex, mineral-rich soils of Knights Valley and nearby grape-growing districts.

This 12.4 acre vineyard runs southeast to northwest on the eastern side of scenic Highway 128 and possesses slopes of up to 15 degrees. Prevailing westerly winds pass over a large, cold pond and blow uphill, parallel to the rows of vines. These cooling breezes slow down the ripening of the grapes and result in wines that are packed with elegance, complexity and finesse. A pure mountain stream and rocky ridge separate this vineyard from our Helena Montana vineyard.

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