2022 Salty Goats Howell Mountain Cabernet

95 POINTS: Another fantastic effort from Salty Goats partner winemakers Joe Harden and Phil Holbrook, who have crafted wine together at Nickel & Nickel for nearly a decade. While the duo initially intended to keep Salty Goats focused on lighter wines like Pinot Noir, a serendipitous call from winemaker and historian Graeme MacDonald during the challenging 2020 fire season led them to acquire premium Howell Mountain fruit. And while 2021 was a standout, this 2022 is a great follow-up from a challenging vintage, shaped by an intense heat spell over Labour Day. Still, these Salty Goats crafted one of the boldest, most full-throttle, vibrant wines of the vintage, offering Howell Mountain’s signature density and the intensity of chocolatey tannins, yet with plenty of energy and joie de vivre. Fantastic wild herb aromatics build on the full-bodied palate, layered with rich black cherry and blackberry fruit, exotic brown spices, and deep cedarwood accents. It all culminates in a long, wet slate and loamy earth finish. From the Diogenes Ridge vineyard, planted in 2001, certified organic farming since 2016, rising to 548m. Aged 20 months in 65% new French oak. 150 cases produced.