2004 Herb Lamb EII (Red)

Herb Lamb Vineyards is in St. Helena, California. It was founded by Jennifer and Herb Lamb, who in 1987 bought 7.5 acres of hillside property just below Howell Mountain. Herb is a Napa Valley native with a college degree in soil science, and Jennifer is a public relations professional who ran her own Napa tour business and worked for other wineries. Ann Colgin and her winemaker Helen Turley used grapes from Herb Lamb Vineyards for their wines in the early 1990s. Herb Lamb’s own labels started going on the wines in 1997. The estate now produces Cabernet Sauvignon for its Herb Lamb and Two Old Dogs labels. Two Old Dogs wines are made from estate grapes not destined for the premium Herb Lamb label. In 2005 the estate also planted Sauvignon Blanc.

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,