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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.6 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 104 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Hoddick on 8/8/2021 & rated 90 points: Nice wine with fruit still present at a good level. Long finish. (789 views) | | | Tasted by skinut on 11/28/2015 & rated 92 points: Great with a somewhat greasy meat lover's pizza. Just enough briar and tannins to cut the grease on the palate. Nice balance and a hint of sweetness (more ripeness). I kept waiting for the Howell Mountain pepperiness to announce its presence, but never appeared. Not a bad thing, just expecting it and a no-show. Second night it was even smoother. Not sure much would be gained with additional aging. One bottle left and I expect I will consume it by summer of '16. Who says Zins can't age? This is proof it held up beautifully for 9 year with no degradation I can tell. (3252 views) | | | Tasted by mouton45 on 9/20/2015 & rated 91 points: Delicious pairing with beef stroganoff. Spices and herbs on the nose, raspberries on the palate. Not over-the-top. Looking forward to my last three bottles over the next couple of years. No reason to hurry to drink up (3278 views) | | | Tasted by VinoDiver on 9/12/2015 & rated 92 points: Crystal Lake - Fall 2015 (CL): 3+ hours of air and drinking wonderfully. Showing no signs of slowing down. (3753 views) | | | Tasted by Ed B on 9/2/2015 & rated 91 points: PnP at a dinner party. No detailed notes. Excellent. Well received. (3266 views) | | | Tasted by mouton45 on 10/16/2014 & rated 90 points: Went well with rare lamb chops on Thursday's Gourmet Night at the Palace with Cathy and Mariruth. Cathy thought it was a little astringent (3402 views) | | | Tasted by tomlee on 10/16/2014 & rated 92 points: Consistent with note from late last year. Really great bottle of Zinfandel. Drink now as I don't expect this will get any better. (1525 views) | | | Tasted by Ed B on 8/26/2014 & rated 94 points: Splash decanted and drank over the next three hours. Color is not quite an old-world, orange-rimmed Bordeaux, but it's getting close to that. Brick-red, but still nearly opaque.
Incredible melange of blue and red berries, Middle-Eastern spice, with a little pepper on top.
Weak Zins become mediocre Merlots after 5-6 years. Good Zins, like this one, become an incredibly complex, multi-spice, soft-fruit delight that is beyond compare.
This is a spectacular wine, which is now drinking right in its sweet spot. Enjoy! (1399 views) | | | Tasted by Meerlust on 12/25/2013 & rated 88 points: Dark purple color. The nose is a blend of plums, prunes, and dark cherry. The palate matches the nose and ther is a touch of heat, but it is not terribly distracting. This is full-bodied with moderate acidity and a moderate finish of dark fruit. Overall, this was not immediately recognizeable as a Zinfandel, but it did have ripe fruit and was easy to drink. (2058 views) | | | Tasted by tomlee on 12/10/2013 & rated 92 points: The fruit for the Howell Mountain Zinfandel is a combination old vine and young vine planted in '78 and '00 respectively. Crimson in color. 16.2% ABV. Concentrated aromas of dark fruits, white pepper and molasses. Big and structured. Textbook Howell Mountain profile. Medium body. Raspberry, plum, licorice and boysenberry on the palate. Dusty tannins on the incredibly long, sweet finish. Drink over the next 1-2 years. (2194 views) | | | Tasted by stconner on 11/3/2013 & rated 88 points: Your typical Outpost Zin as you could definitely taste the pepper. It was a little past its prime, but surprisingly it still had some good fruit. Very smooth with a decent finish. (1514 views) | | | Tasted by jrglm on 8/18/2013 & rated 90 points: You'd never know this was a Zinfandel. (1786 views) | | | Tasted by Grape_ape on 8/3/2013: popped and poured, but only had a glass as it was shared and went fast... brambly red fruit, big but very balanced considering the alcohol level. (1718 views) | | | Tasted by konadog on 3/22/2013 & rated 91 points: big blackberry and raspberry notes with some underlying spice, soft vanilla notes on the finish (1577 views) | | | Tasted by mouton45 on 1/20/2013 & rated 91 points: Rich, full bodied, not over the top. Delicious with grilled ribeye (1788 views) | | | Tasted by Barry Notes on 1/14/2013 & rated 90 points: PnP w/30 min decant. Very deep, dark purple color. Good Zin nose. This is a big wine. Fairly sharp tannins/oak and slightly hot at first but balanced out some w/time. We drank stand alone but would be super with food. Rich, some oak, slight licorice, white pepper. Should hold well for a few years yet. Nothing off. (1956 views) | | | Tasted by Dcomon on 1/10/2013 & rated 90 points: Ripe berry and a lot of oak. Rich. It's nice (1708 views) | | | Tasted by ogres3 on 11/17/2012: Great nose, great fruit, nice finish. Had with in laws. (1746 views) | | | Tasted by cburgner on 10/7/2012 & rated 88 points: Enjoyed at Cafe Italia. Opened 20 minutes before consuming. Tannins were strong during pre food, but tasted very nice with dinner (fet. afredo). (1705 views) | | | Tasted by Bill in Chicago on 9/29/2012 & rated 89 points: Very Good wine, it lack depth and complexity. Little too much oak and not enough grape, earth and flavor. (1579 views) | | | Tasted by Ed B on 5/16/2012 & rated 94 points: Decanted thru a strainer and began drinking. Wish I had opened 1-2 hours ago. Brick red, with a hint of purple; beginnings of an orange rim. Red berries with a touch of plum. Huge white pepper in the very long finish. Hope I can hold off drinking long enough to let it open up a little more. This wine is just beginning to mature. Don't be afraid to hold it several more years.
After an hour - I did show some restraint - it softened nicely. Red berries are in the background, with dark fruit and licorice predominating. Less pepper, but still a nice amount. Lamb chops are coming out of the broiler. More to come.
Confirms that lamb and Zin are one of the best food pairings ever. Excellent wine. (2140 views) | | | Tasted by lynarthur on 5/16/2012 & rated 92 points: Wish we had more of these. Smooth, rich zin. Not too hot or tannic. (2070 views) | | | Tasted by VinoDiver on 2/20/2012: Winter 2012 Wine Dinner (SA - TX): 2012 Winter Wine Dinner: Number in () is number of favorite votes by guests. Number in [] is my ranking from 1(favorite) to 4. All wines were outstanding and this was very much splitting hairs.
2006 Outpost Zinfandel (4) [1]
2003 Scherrer ‘Old & Mature Vines’ Zinfandel (3) [3]
2005 Turley Ueberroth Vineyard Zinfandel (2) [4]
2009 Carlisle Papera Ranch Zinfandel (1) [2]
Quick Notes:
The bottles were popped and left to breath for about 3-4 hours before service. I was again pleasantly surprised by the Outpost. My last bottle was a white, hot, mess. This was everything that Outpost is capable of, just beautiful Howell Mountain fruit.
The Carlisle even after 5 hours was still improving and I was able to save a little to try on day 2. Wow!!! It is really good stuff. I’d sit on this for a few years if you have any. (2709 views) | | | Tasted by Grape_ape on 1/23/2012 & rated 90 points: pretty nice, incredibly balanced given the 16.2% alcohol... initially very little on the nose, took a little time to open up. Nice mix of dark and red brambly fruits, raspberry, blackberry, little bit of pepper (not nearly as much pepper as an 05 I had a year ago though). Pleasantly surprised as I thought it may have ended up being a little too hot or over ripe, but not at all. (2484 views) | | | Tasted by treaganjr on 1/20/2012 & rated 92 points: Wow! When you want a fantastic Zin Outpost never lets you down. Great berry and spice on the nose and a mouthful of rich flavors as you drink. (2407 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2008, IWC Issue #138
(Outpost Cellars Zinfandel Howell Mountain) Subscribe to see review text. |  By Gary Vaynerchuk
Wine Library TV, Zinfandel Tasting - Blind, Episode #583 (11/24/2008)
(Outpost Zinfandel Howell Mountain) #2; VaynerPAZZZ; COLOR-dark; NOSE-loaded w/ gorgeous black pepper; nice leather & venison, but these are all overshadowed by the nice dark fruits (blackberries, cassis, blueberries); TASTE-the Oak Monster ruined this wine; this wine had all the makings of a top notch Zin, but ruined it w/ the oak; some pepper and shredded dark chocolate initially, but then massive amounts of wood that hides the character; a massive missed opportunity IMO; ST-91/92; GV-83 83 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and Wine Library TV. (manage subscription channels) |
| Outpost Producer websiteZinfandel ZAP: Zinfandel Advocates & Producers | Varietal character (Appellation America) | Wikipedia-ZinfandelUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Howell Mountain Howell Mountain |
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