The last two vintages of Hawk and Horse Cabernet we offered both went down as two of the best-selling and most requested wines in the history of K&L! And now, after a long wait, it's back with the stunning, powerful, 2016 release. To recap the story behind this wine, Hawk and Horse is a high elevation estate in Lake County's Red Hills AVA. This region's rugged volcanic soils and propensity to produce deeply concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon has attracted iconic producers such as Beckstoffer and Beringer to name a few. They have invested heavily in the area believing in its potential to rival nearby mountainous regions of Napa Valley such as Howell and Diamond Mountain. The folks at Hawk and Horse are some of the most highly regarded growers in Lake County. The estate is strictly farmed according to organic and biodynamic principles (Demeter Certified) to produce the purest expression of this formidable terroir. The consulting winemaker at Hawk and Horse is the legendary Dr. Richard Peterson. With more than 60 years of experience, Peterson was the founding winemaker at Screaming Eagle before passing the torch to his daughter Heidi Peterson Barrett who went on to become one of the most famed cult winemakers in Napa's long history. But enough backstory, what about the wine itself you say!? Well, the wine can speak for itself. Deep purple fruit, mulberry, blackcurrant, some earthy red fruit too. Plenty of briary tones, camphor, cedar, cigar box, iron. Significant structural tannins speak clearly of the wine's mountain origin as does the crushed rock minerality. This is not a ripe, fruit-bomb, valley floor wine...it's mountain grown through and through. Oh, and the price, yeah, that's correct, 60+% off the winery SRP. The only question is...how many bottles do you need!?

Hawk and Horse is one of those cabs that I drink and I think to myself "well hot damn, this is on;y 25 bucks?" Coming from Napa originally, and only knowing of Lake County as an area I don't really go to, it's awesome to see it's an excellent growing region with so much potential. It's like drinking Napa adjacent for a fantastic price. If you love cab with a lot of depth and bravado, this may be the one for you!

If you're looking for a bold, full-bodied red - but one with acid, structure, and balance - you won't find one much better than the 2016 Hawk and Horse Cabernet, especially at this price point! With an expressive nose full of black plums, cranberries, and dusty blackberries, and a palate rich with juicy dark fruit, it's got all the flavor and power you could want in a California Cabernet. But what really makes this wine stand out for me is its poise; the fruit flavors are full, but never jammy, and the oak is well-integrated, providing a delicate hint of toasty vanilla, and underscoring the wine's lovely, fine-grained tannins. A great buy, and a fantastic value!