2014 Anakota Cabernet Sauvignon Helene Dakota Vineyard

Bordelais winemaker Pierre Seillan, who makes these wines for the Kendall-Jackson empire, believes that this micro-terroir has exceptional potential. Not far from Peter Michael, it faces southwest and gets refreshing winds off the Pacific through the Petaluma Wind Gap. These are relatively big wines, but every year that I have tasted them, Seillan has fine-tuned the tannins so that they are abundant but sweeter and much better integrated. For those who keep score, these wines are kept 14-16 months in barrel, with the amount of new oak decreasing every year, and alcohol levels of 14.5-14.8%. There are two cuvées grown at different elevations, but both from southwest vineyards, with the Helena Montana at 950-100 feet, and the Helena Dakota at 650 feet or so.