Abreu Las Posadas Proprietary Red 2019.

When David purchased this Howell Mountain property in 2000 it came with an unexpected perk: first growth redwood stakes dating back over a century. Relics of an earlier era of agriculture. “When the college owned this site they'd burn all the underbrush, including the stakes, to keep it clean. When I came in we found them and set them all aside,” he says. At about 2000 feet elevation, Las Posadas sits above the fog line, surrounded by a protected forest of fir and pine. Red Aiken soils are layered over white tufa, and the rocks that littered the site before it was planted now form walls defining the property. The redwood stakes—collected, stacked, preserved—await their next life.

The 2019 Las Posadas is pure gold as well as a perfect wine. Darker plums, tobacco, bay leaf, iron, and graphite all emerge on the nose, and this quintessential Howell Mountain beauty is full-bodied, with incredible concentration and ripe tannins. There's an almost bloody, salty character on the finish. This insanely good red needs to be forgotten for 4-6 years and is going to cruise in cold cellars. As with just about all of Brad's wines, it has a singular character - Jeb Dunnuck February 2023.