2019 Castiel Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 750 ml

Celia Welch is instantly recognizable to Cabernet connoisseurs. But even before she crafted the $750+ cult wine she’s most famous for, she earned an unassailable reputation consulting for names like Staglin, Buccella, Keever, and Hartwell. Oh, and she was named Food & Wine’s Winemaker of the Year, as well.

Needless to say, she was the first choice when Castiel Estate proprietors Dave and Kathleen DiCesaris were seeking a top-flight winemaker to craft their Howell Mountain Cabernet. 

Kathleen DiCesaris has a long history in the wine world, starting in the business in the 1990s as a wine educator at Freemark Abbey. Dave was a college basketball star who played at Pomona under surefire NBA Hall of Fame coach Greg Popovich. It wasn’t the wine-loving Pop who turned Dave onto wine, but a colleague in Los Angeles, who recommended Dave unwind from a stressful week by heading to Napa.

Dave whipped up a list of wineries to visit. It included Freemark Abbey, and BOOM—love at first site. Fast forward to Dave and Kathleen honeymooning at Meadowood. Then, in 2014, they purchased a site on Howell Mountain, a stone’s throw from CADE. Famed viticulturist Jim Barbour told them about the site. He also introduced them to Celia Welch.

The 2019 Cabernet does not come from the DiCesarises’ site, but one of the most famed vineyards on Howell Mountain—one known for producing bank-breaking Cabernets that score at the top of the charts just about every vintage. Welch took that fruit—consisting of Cabernet clones See, 191, 337, and 169—gave it 20 months in 65% new French oak, and the result is one of the most stunning Howell Mountain Cabernets you’ll ever taste.