Freemark Abbey in St. Helena

It's been a while since we visited Napa Valley last time.
This time, we drove up to the north of Napa, passing by the famous To Kalon vineyards.

The first winery we visited was Freemark Abbey in St. Helena.

St. Helena is the warmer AVA in Napa. It's in the north but farther away from the cooling influence of the San Pablo Bay. This warm climate helps grapes to ripen. Night time temperature is cooled by the Pacific Ocean breezes coming from Chalk Hill Gap, and grapes retain acidity and fruitiness with the cool temperature. Grapes grown under this condition can produce well balanced wine.

We tries several Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Both Merlot and Cabernet were good. Structure was strong but not overwhelming, and there were fresh and ripe fruits.

The best wine was Cabernet Sauvignon Bosche Vineyard 2013.

This single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon had good structure, very smooth texture, and concentrated black fruit and spices. Very good wine.
The production of this wine is limited so it's not for sale at stores (you have to be on their mailing list, I guess).

We weren't planning to go this winery: we just saw the building and decided to pop into.
I'm very glad we did.