Retro Cellars is a small Napa label producing Howell Mountain Petite Sirah in an old-world style, made by Mike Dunn of the Dunn Vineyards family. The fruit comes from a high-elevation site at around 1,800 feet on Howell Mountain, an AVA above the Napa Valley fog line whose thin, red volcanic soils and cooler mountain conditions naturally limit yields and produce small, thick-skinned, deeply pigmented berries, classic conditions for structured, age-worthy Petite Sirah. The 2012 vintage across Napa was near-ideal, a generous but even growing season after several short years, giving ripe, balanced fruit with good natural acidity and ample colour and tannin on the mountain.

In a traditional, low-intervention manner, the Petite Sirah is fermented and then matured in oak to tame its naturally formidable tannin and dense colour. In some releases the wine is co-blended with small proportions of Syrah and Zinfandel to add lift and perfume to the powerful Petite Sirah core. Extended barrel ageing softens the structure while retaining the variety's black-fruit concentration and spice. The house aim is a mountain wine that balances Howell Mountain power with an elegance unusual for the grape, built for extended cellaring.