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 Release Letter ~ Summer 2006 Happy Fourth of July, Summer in Napa Valley this year has started out very warm, as if Mother Nature wanted the vines to catch up after a cool and wet spring. We are finally caught up on the cultural activities throughout Napa Valley in our ranches and crop estimates are being fine-tuned. While still too early to forecast quality, the growth at this point is encouraging. Here on the Howell Mountain Estate, there is plenty of activity in and around the vineyard. If you have visited in the last two years, you may have noticed the replanting project. All the AXR rootstock vines in the older blocks across the driveway have been removed and the last field will be replanted shortly. The project creates a shortage of Howell Mountain fruit for a few years but will yield a much higher quality crop when the new vines begin producing. At the same time, there is a cave expansion underway that will give Kelly and Gove a more efficient space in which to work with barrels. Eventually connecting to the southeast corner of our cave, the additional space allows easier access to small barrel lots for tasting, racking and bottling. We find that keeping each vineyard separate during fermentation and barrel aging allows the best evaluation of our farming and winemaking processes. The nine Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards used for the Napa Valley bottling produce as many as 24 wine lots each year, based on topography, ripeness and clone. When a wide variety of French oak barrels are added, the ability to isolate and track individual barrels is critical and allows us to find the best barrels for our single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines are made from organically farmed fruit, fermented with indigenous yeast and barrel aged in 100% new French oak for 26 months. We are shifting our release to November to allow extra bottle age, giving you a more readily approachable wine when released after harvest this fall. This year we are releasing seven Vineyard Designated bottlings from 2003. Earlier this year we offered our first wine made from certified organically grown grapes, from the Rutherford Dust Vineyards. Now we offer the mixed set, which includes one bottle each of the other six vineyards: Howell Mountain Estate, 1540, Chafen, Second Chance, One Lane Bridge and Wykoff. The order form enclosed allows you the opportunity to pre-order these wines at a special price if ordered by August 1st. However, as in the past, there are a limited number of bottles available and we will fill the orders on a first come, first served basis. Single bottle purchases of each vineyard are available after the purchase of two mixed sets. The mixed sets are packed in a 6 bottle, lay-down box and the pre-release price offered to you is $395.00. After July 31, the price will increase to $480.00. In response to the demand last year, we are offering a few more sets in magnums, or 1.5 liter bottles. These sets come packaged in a very impressive custom-made cherry wood box. There is a small quantity of the same quality cherry box for the 750ml sets for an additional $100.00. Please indicate your choice on the order form. Tasting Notes and Vineyard Locations: As always, your response to our wines is greatly appreciated. Thanks to your support we are continuing to pursue farming and winemaking at the highest level of quality while offering wines from Napa Valley at an outstanding value. If you have any questions regarding the wines or the order form, please call us at the winery and come visit when you are in Napa Valley. Best Wishes, 
 Release Letter Archive:
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