Throughout the last four decades, Bill Harlan has acquired a reputation for producing some of the most thought-provoking Cabernet-based wine in all of Napa Valley. With each project that adorns his name, there is a narrative that speaks to something much greater than just a bottle of wine.

In 2008, Harlan purchased an 840-acre parcel of land running along the western hillside of Oakville. The territory, situated just to the south of the family’s namesake winery, would come to be the site for his third winegrowing endeavor, Promontory. His second project, Bond, was founded in 1996.

While less than 10 percent of Promontory is dedicated to vineyard land (much of the property is too steep to plant to vines), the grapes that do grow within this secluded canyon deliver ethereal Cabernet Sauvignon, marked by fresh forest and wet stone aromatics; on the palate a linear drive, mineral focus, and the feeling of an almost weightless structure.

Surrounding the 40-acres of intricate patchwork vineyards is a wild expanse of forest and woodlands. The property is defined by two fault lines that act as boundary markers, with volcanic, sedimentary, and metamorphic soils all contained within. Almost all the vines are dedicated to Cabernet Sauvignon, with only a small portion of Cabernet Franc planted on a patch of limestone soils that Winemaker David Cilli and his team discovered.

Many consider Promontory to have its own singular identity (the property straddles the Oakville and Yountville AVAs but also has a large portion in the generic Napa Valley AVA). Since its inaugural release of the 2009 vintage, it has come to be known as a wine whose story reflects the land from which it is grown -- mysterious, complex, expansive, and long.

After harvest, the wines are treated with the utmost care and patience. Wooden and concrete vats are utilized for the ferments. The wine is then aged for upwards of three years in large Austrian oak casks rather than French barrique, with the smallest cask holding 1,000 liters and ranging up to 4,200 liters for the largest. 2012 was the first vintage to utilize some larger casks for aging, while the ’15 was the first vintage matured entirely in cask. The 2016 is the current release (2,300 cases made).

As we continue to provide Mayacama members access to some of the most sought-after wine bottlings being produced today, it is my pleasure to bring you a 3-bottle library vertical offering of Promontory – 2013, 2014, 2015.

We were allocated only eight vertical packs from the winery, so please act sooner rather than later if you are interested in adding these bottles to your cellar.

As always, feel free to let me know if you have any questions. Thank you so much for your continued support.

Cheers!

Carey Vanderborg, Wine Director

Promontory Three-Bottle 2013 - 2015 Vertical - $2,700

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