this is my fourth of a six pack. the 2013 has always been a disappointment for me. I gave this two hours in the decanter before dinner dark garnet color, aromas of cherries. More cherries, high toned fruit on the palate, a bit lean with a short finish. no significant secondary or tertiary notes. did not change with more time in the glass. Interesting that this vintage did not get great scores from AG
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OMG. This is such an incredible Outpost Cab. Deep,dark opulence. Rich in full on berries with spices that awaken palate senses! Will benefit from a bit more properly cellaring though very approachable now with aeration. Cheers!!
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Decanted an hour before consuming. Enjoyed by guests and us. Been a couple years since we had this, there is far less fruit than before, and it’s time to drink this. The fruit and tannin is in total harmony. Early on, and as of a couple years ago, this was a BIG wine, full of extraction and sweetness. Not anymore. Tannin, acid, and energy rule here. Very good, but it’s time to consume.
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Love me my Howell Mtn fruit, and this did not disappoint. Was a bit more refined than I had anticipated, as many of the Napa '13s I've had over the last year have been monsters!!
This was that incredibly yummy dark black fruit profile, wish we had more time at dinner to really enjoy and take notes, but the B52s and KC & the Sunshine band were awaiting us.. so did not get to take any detailed notes.
Showing no signs of age, and think this might even have the potential to pop a point with a little more bottle age, but if you have a few, definitely dig in.... PnP. slow ox over 1.5 hours, and best sip was, of course, the last.
Dark purple color, nose lush with spices and dark berries. Black cherries, Marion berries and raspberries. Hints of licorice with hints of pepper, oak and spices.
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July 4 feast. Decanted, returned to the bottle, and drunk a couple of hours later, and it drank well; tons of sediment. A major step up from my daily drinker cabs from WA, Chile, or lower priced Napa, but still falling into a familiar if delicious range, with limited tertiary development so far. Another 5 years will take this to another level as a touch less sweetness would be nice.
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Fourth bottle opened in the OP vertical. 14, 15 & 16 in that order. Came back to 13 after last drop of 16. 13 is second to 16 but only during the first sitting. On day two the wine develops some bitterness with slow ox in the bottle. Dark chocolate dominates this one with less sweet blueberry crumble. 94 PNP and 92 day two.
Drink or hold.
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NYE 2021 (ST): Decanted for 2+ hours in a big decanter. Bright red fruits on the nose, with woodsy red fruits on the palate. Dark red in the glass, no bricking at all. This one is really good right now, but still has some wood flavors that could integrate over time. Really enjoyable wine, and great with the lamb chops.
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Drunk during a week in the Rocky Mountains with my good friend Greg and the wives. Bought on release stored at cellar conditions. 3/6 bottles. Decanted for an hour, drunk over the next hour. This is a deep, dark wine that is finally ready to drink. Blue and black fruits, crushed rock on the finish. Full bodied. Very good, not great ( finish was a bit short), at this point in time. Will wait another year or so for next bottle
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See BadMonkey's note below from April 2020. My experience with this bottle was right in line with his note.
The anise and mineral components really stood out most to me. Clearly mountain grown. Either Diamond, or Howell strictly by taste. I would have guessed Diamond Mountain though if tasting blind.
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Decided to revisit after recently tasting the 2017 vintage - curious how a vintage with some age compares. Improvement from almost two years ago. Dark ruby fruit - currants/cassis, blackberry, and dark cherry. Smooth mid-palate with solid depth/concentration - medium plus body. Nice rich flavors of dark berries, some spice/licorice, a little cocoa, and a mineral/graphite component. Fairly long finish but just a little tannic. Decanted for one hour and drank over a couple more. Improved a little with time but drinking well after the decant. WA anticipated maturity 2021 to 2041 which I can’t argue to give it a little more time to soften/open-up especially on the back-end, however, I believe this vintage is starting to enter a nice drinking window. 100% cab.
Decided to revisit after around a year and a half ago. Dark ruby fruit - currants, dark cherry, and blackberry. Smooth mid-palate and the tannins are integrated quite well, however, I was hoping more depth in consideration of Parker's 95+ rating. Nice flavors of dark berries, some spice, and a mineral component. Decent finish but not overly long nor deep - it needs some more time to open-up on the back-end. Decanted for one hour and drank over a couple more. Improved a little with time. Parker stated in 2015 that this vintage needs 5 to 6 years so hopefully it fills-out and opens-up with a little more time. However, at this point closer to the 92 rating from Galloni in my opinion.
Purposely set aside some for day two to see where it would go. I thought the fruit opened-up a little more with the finish but still somewhat underwhelming. Going to lay my other bottles down for a couple more years hoping for that 95+ rating.
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Shut down and totally constricted, with practically every identifiable flavor showing nothing beyond being completely linear and narrow. As others have noted, the core fruit is especially closed. DRY as a bone on the back end, with the tannins sucking just about any semblance of moisture from the sides of the mouth.
Some faint notes of black currant, concrete, and cedar. This resembled a young BDX over a Napa Cabernet. At this juncture, I wouldn't recommend going near this stark and bitter beast for another 5+ years. I saved some for day 2, so we shall see how that goes...
DAY 2: After 24 hours of air back and forth between the decanter and the bottle, this finally showed signs of huge promise. It needs 4-5 years to really come into its own, but it is packed with upside. Showed notes of blackberry, boysenberry, asphalt, camphor, and faint cedar. Still has quite a bite, with a pumice-like clip on the back end. However, the core is so tightly concentrated and ready to explode in the best of ways, I feel like this could catapult its flavor profile multiple points if just given some much needed time in the bottle. 93++ points, with possible mid to upper 90's in a few years. Leave alone until after 2022+.
1 hour decant. Beautiful nose of fruit and oak. On the palate this is very tannic - much more so than the True Vineyard. I will wait at least 5 years on my remaining 2 bottles.
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Decided to revisit in light of the release of their 2014 vintage yesterday. Similar notes as the tasting last May. Dark purple fruit - blueberry, blackberry, and currants. Smooth mid-palate with solid depth and a nice mineral/graphite component but the fruit came across somewhat closed. Fairly long finish but also somewhat closed. Decanted for three hours and drank over another three. Improved with time but this vintage clearly needs more time. I thought this vintage was drinking fairly well shortly after the release but it appears to be in a transition phase. I'm laying the other bottles down for at least another year but I believe this vintage likely needs even longer.
This is a monster with a grip of tannins that are still a bit overwhelming the fruit. In all fairness popped it open and don't think it had nearly enough time in decanter and glass.. (1 hr), but I think I can see where its headed and that's a good place!
Agree with others - holding the next bottle opening for a year or a long decant. It had a Great bouquet on opening.. but the entire time just seemed to be muted and never opened up, possible dumb phase??
Mostly black and blue fruit, w/ hint of purple too. Got a mouth coating of baking spice and graphite which seemed to last for minutes... but lacked really any finish.
Happily think this will pop a point or two in some time once it can "work it all out!" Similar to the 13 Kobalt.
Napa Visit 2016; 7/10/2016-7/13/2016: -3 hrs decant, needed more. Pours dark purplish/black. Explosive fruit on a great nose. Dark fruit, heavy tannins. Still some wood. Let these infants rest 5-7 years for best results. A lot of promise here. 95+ pts.
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Slow ox for 7 hours. Had side-by-side with 2013 Frank Family Reserve (Rutherford).
This was still too tight in my opinion. After tasting, I generally drank the Frank and went back to this later (after dinner). It was still tight, and the finish was very tannic. There is plenty of nice, dark mountain fruit here; I just think it needs some time in the bottle. Actually reminded me of my experiences with the 2013 Quivet cabs at this early stage.
I will note that some others preferred the Outpost and drank it with dinner, so this was not universal.
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Cassis, blackberry, blueberry, vanilla on the finish. Huge structure, huge fruit, and equally huge tannin. Everything is in balance, which is quite an accomplishment with such a young wine. This is all rather primary at the moment. It's balanced, but not really integrated. That'll come with years. This wine will improve for at least 5 years, and should drink well for a decade and a half, or two.
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Tasted at the winery. Great wine here with bright blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry fruit, and subtle licorice. Firm structure throughout and nice sweet smooth tannins on the end with a long finish. This is going to be great one over time.
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Howell Mountain Spring Wine Trade Tasting. Nose of berry rather than cherry fruit, currants, and a touch of briar, more of the same on the palate, medium/big body, fairly intense, tasty, rich fruit, better in 2/3 years, long, long, flavorful finish. Retail $85
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Had this at the winery with yonster24 and others. This is a great winery to visit if you get a chance. KC is great and a fantastic host.
No formal notes -- too many wines and not enough time. This was my second favorite of the tasting behind the True Cab. That said, it was much more approachable and certainly you should pull this one out before the True. It is teeth staining purple, with a gorgeous core of black fruit. The tannins are still pretty hefty, and it requires a lot of air for this to show even a fraction of what it can do (got much better over the hour we were there). I didn't feel it was as stacked and endowed as the True, but loved it all the same. An incredible deal at $85.
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Cristal2000 and I went to the winery over the weekend (along with quite a few others) and had this at the winery. This was probably decanting for only a little while before we started as towards the end of our tasting is when this really started to SHINE.
Black fruit, black currant, graphite on the nose. Full bodied wine but the fruit is held firmly in check and not over ripe whatsoever. Clean, lively but not even close to coming out of it's shell. STRUCTURE on this wine. Long finish with tannins and acidity very much backing this baby up. This is my kind of cab. Built for the long haul and not overdone. Loved it. (Possibly even more than the TRUE Cab I had from them.)
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Tasted at Outpost alongside the 2013 Immigrant and Zinfandel.
Similar to my CT notes on 10/12/2015. The 2013 Outpost Howell Mountain Cabernet has a lot going on, with purple, red, and black berry notes all swarming around the palate, especially an interesting black raspberry streak that really enhances the other fruit flavors. Additional nuances of plum, volcanic ash, chalk, black and red licorice, and faint vanilla.
As with all of TRB's Cabernets here at Outpost, the tannin management here is excellent. No harsh edges at all; just youthful vibrancy and primal fruit flavors just waiting to pop. Wait another year at least to let the fruit expand, allowing the chalky grip to release a little more. Decant for a number of hours if you choose to open early. Good QPR considering what's in the bottle.
Also, the property at Outpost is gorgeous. Highly recommended for a visit if you are in the area.
Megamoon Part I: Napa; 10/13/2015-10/16/2015 (Napa Valley California): Again very big fruit although interesting to read the previous note because I got more in the red family than black. Lots of cranberry and then this flavor I couldn't quite place but think fleshy red sour fruit and then oddly enough just a hint of watermelon which was not out of place and worked well with the wine. Lighter spice and while I think this wine was meant to be drunk young, it seems to have the ability to lie down for a bit too.
ACME Wine Tasting (Saint Helena): The 2013 Outpost Howell Mountain Cabernet immediately opens up with black and purple fruit flavors; blackberry, black raspberry, blueberry, dark plum, black licorice, asphalt, and inviting vanilla bean/creme de cassis notes. Tightly coiled fruit, but accessible after 30 minutes of slow O2. Will undoubtedly improve over the next 2-3 years.
I would wait on this wine until 2017 before attempting to determine its true primary drinking window. When tasted, it was poured via a Coravin, so its exposure to air was extremely limited. Even so, I would rate this as a 94+ with a promising future for even more improvement. A pleasurable drink with a hedonistic suppleness to it. Made me want to keep coming back for another sip. If you can't wait to pop the cork, decant for at least 2-3 hours.
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3/5/2024 - hanasowner wrote: 90 Points
Splash decant...still a bit tight with noticeable tannins.
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1/8/2024 - Franken Berry wrote: 92 Points
this is my fourth of a six pack. the 2013 has always been a disappointment for me. I gave this two hours in the decanter before dinner
dark garnet color, aromas of cherries. More cherries, high toned fruit on the palate, a bit lean with a short finish. no significant secondary or tertiary notes. did not change with more time in the glass.
Interesting that this vintage did not get great scores from AG
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1/6/2024 - Wine_in_HD wrote:
flawed
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11/14/2023 - Lawino7 wrote: 94 Points
OMG. This is such an incredible Outpost Cab. Deep,dark opulence. Rich in full on berries with spices that awaken palate senses! Will benefit from a bit more properly cellaring though very approachable now with aeration. Cheers!!
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10/25/2023 - Wine_in_HD wrote: 92 Points
Going strong at 10 years old. Still a bit tannic. I think it will be better if given more time.
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10/14/2023 - Encinitas_Joe Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine has really come into a great spot now. Will definitely hold up for years but this now has great balance.
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7/2/2023 - Smerkow Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted/Aerated/Filtered twice. Huge fruit. Smooth tannins. Drank wonderfully with many more years of life
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1/7/2023 - VinoDiver Likes this wine: 94 Points
Coravin’d and consumed over a month. Consistent results. Fine tannins balanced with solid fruit. No signs of slowing down.
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12/23/2022 - WineGold wrote: 92 Points
Decanted an hour before consuming. Enjoyed by guests and us. Been a couple years since we had this, there is far less fruit than before, and it’s time to drink this. The fruit and tannin is in total harmony. Early on, and as of a couple years ago, this was a BIG wine, full of extraction and sweetness. Not anymore. Tannin, acid, and energy rule here. Very good, but it’s time to consume.
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11/4/2022 - Cabernet4me2 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Love me my Howell Mtn fruit, and this did not disappoint. Was a bit more refined than I had anticipated, as many of the Napa '13s I've had over the last year have been monsters!!
This was that incredibly yummy dark black fruit profile, wish we had more time at dinner to really enjoy and take notes, but the B52s and KC & the Sunshine band were awaiting us.. so did not get to take any detailed notes.
Showing no signs of age, and think this might even have the potential to pop a point with a little more bottle age, but if you have a few, definitely dig in.... PnP. slow ox over 1.5 hours, and best sip was, of course, the last.
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10/16/2022 - Mr T wrote:
Gorgeous TRB liquid velvet
Yum
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10/15/2022 - Wino from Michigan wrote: 94 Points
Amazing - drinking well
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9/4/2022 - peternelson Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very big, rich, dark, cocoa and coffee bean with dark cassis syrup. Trish wine
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7/30/2022 - Lawino7 wrote: 94 Points
Dark purple color, nose lush with spices and dark berries. Black cherries, Marion berries and raspberries. Hints of licorice with hints of pepper, oak and spices.
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7/4/2022 - silton Likes this wine: 93 Points
July 4 feast. Decanted, returned to the bottle, and drunk a couple of hours later, and it drank well; tons of sediment. A major step up from my daily drinker cabs from WA, Chile, or lower priced Napa, but still falling into a familiar if delicious range, with limited tertiary development so far. Another 5 years will take this to another level as a touch less sweetness would be nice.
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6/28/2022 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fourth bottle opened in the OP vertical. 14, 15 & 16 in that order. Came back to 13 after last drop of 16. 13 is second to 16 but only during the first sitting. On day two the wine develops some bitterness with slow ox in the bottle. Dark chocolate dominates this one with less sweet blueberry crumble. 94 PNP and 92 day two.
Drink or hold.
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6/18/2022 - Mark60 wrote: 93 Points
Yummy goodness.
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6/13/2022 - Wino from Michigan wrote: 93 Points
Gitty up good stuff !!
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12/31/2021 - Gregmonroe Likes this wine:
NYE 2021 (ST): Decanted for 2+ hours in a big decanter. Bright red fruits on the nose, with woodsy red fruits on the palate. Dark red in the glass, no bricking at all. This one is really good right now, but still has some wood flavors that could integrate over time. Really enjoyable wine, and great with the lamb chops.
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11/26/2021 - TwoSmoochies wrote: 91 Points
Hubby liked - I felt it had a lot of sticks.
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9/19/2021 - Franken Berry Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drunk during a week in the Rocky Mountains with my good friend Greg and the wives. Bought on release stored at cellar conditions. 3/6 bottles. Decanted for an hour, drunk over the next hour.
This is a deep, dark wine that is finally ready to drink. Blue and black fruits, crushed rock on the finish. Full bodied. Very good, not great ( finish was a bit short), at this point in time. Will wait another year or so for next bottle
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8/7/2021 - bonedoc wrote: 92 Points
Solid second wine from a great producer.
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7/12/2021 - Elkcims Likes this wine: 94 Points
Inky, full bodied, black currant, smoke, delicious.
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6/12/2021 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine: 90 Points
PNP, Big bold and jammy. Unfortunately a bit excessive in vanilla/oak next to the 15 The Mascot we had open. Hopefully time will sort this out.
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4/3/2021 - beau11 wrote: 94 Points
Blackberries with a lot of minerality and graphite.
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1/9/2021 - sethkernodle Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very Bold structured Howell Mountain wine
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8/8/2020 - goldendomer2001 wrote: 92 Points
See BadMonkey's note below from April 2020. My experience with this bottle was right in line with his note.
The anise and mineral components really stood out most to me. Clearly mountain grown. Either Diamond, or Howell strictly by taste. I would have guessed Diamond Mountain though if tasting blind.
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4/12/2020 - Badmonkey wrote: 93 Points
Decided to revisit after recently tasting the 2017 vintage - curious how a vintage with some age compares. Improvement from almost two years ago. Dark ruby fruit - currants/cassis, blackberry, and dark cherry. Smooth mid-palate with solid depth/concentration - medium plus body. Nice rich flavors of dark berries, some spice/licorice, a little cocoa, and a mineral/graphite component. Fairly long finish but just a little tannic. Decanted for one hour and drank over a couple more. Improved a little with time but drinking well after the decant. WA anticipated maturity 2021 to 2041 which I can’t argue to give it a little more time to soften/open-up especially on the back-end, however, I believe this vintage is starting to enter a nice drinking window. 100% cab.
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4/11/2020 - Neat Water Back wrote:
PnP. This needs time in bottle or decant prior for a few hours. The goodness is there so enjoy with proper preparation.
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12/24/2019 - DBenke wrote: 94 Points
Big really nice. Give more time
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4/30/2019 - leadpencil wrote: 96 Points
Full bodied. BlackBerry, chalky limestone.
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9/1/2018 - hanasowner wrote: 90 Points
Dark red fruit...tannins need more time to soften...either a long decant or more time for remaining bottles.
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8/5/2018 - Badmonkey wrote: 92 Points
Decided to revisit after around a year and a half ago. Dark ruby fruit - currants, dark cherry, and blackberry. Smooth mid-palate and the tannins are integrated quite well, however, I was hoping more depth in consideration of Parker's 95+ rating. Nice flavors of dark berries, some spice, and a mineral component. Decent finish but not overly long nor deep - it needs some more time to open-up on the back-end. Decanted for one hour and drank over a couple more. Improved a little with time. Parker stated in 2015 that this vintage needs 5 to 6 years so hopefully it fills-out and opens-up with a little more time. However, at this point closer to the 92 rating from Galloni in my opinion.
Purposely set aside some for day two to see where it would go. I thought the fruit opened-up a little more with the finish but still somewhat underwhelming. Going to lay my other bottles down for a couple more years hoping for that 95+ rating.
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5/12/2018 - n2wine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great wine, but still early for this one. Hold for another year or two.
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8/14/2017 - csimm wrote: 93 Points
Shut down and totally constricted, with practically every identifiable flavor showing nothing beyond being completely linear and narrow. As others have noted, the core fruit is especially closed. DRY as a bone on the back end, with the tannins sucking just about any semblance of moisture from the sides of the mouth.
Some faint notes of black currant, concrete, and cedar. This resembled a young BDX over a Napa Cabernet. At this juncture, I wouldn't recommend going near this stark and bitter beast for another 5+ years. I saved some for day 2, so we shall see how that goes...
DAY 2: After 24 hours of air back and forth between the decanter and the bottle, this finally showed signs of huge promise. It needs 4-5 years to really come into its own, but it is packed with upside. Showed notes of blackberry, boysenberry, asphalt, camphor, and faint cedar. Still has quite a bite, with a pumice-like clip on the back end. However, the core is so tightly concentrated and ready to explode in the best of ways, I feel like this could catapult its flavor profile multiple points if just given some much needed time in the bottle. 93++ points, with possible mid to upper 90's in a few years. Leave alone until after 2022+.
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3/2/2017 - mhewitt wrote: 92 Points
1 hour decant. Beautiful nose of fruit and oak. On the palate this is very tannic - much more so than the True Vineyard. I will wait at least 5 years on my remaining 2 bottles.
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1/18/2017 - Badmonkey wrote: 92 Points
Decided to revisit in light of the release of their 2014 vintage yesterday. Similar notes as the tasting last May. Dark purple fruit - blueberry, blackberry, and currants. Smooth mid-palate with solid depth and a nice mineral/graphite component but the fruit came across somewhat closed. Fairly long finish but also somewhat closed. Decanted for three hours and drank over another three. Improved with time but this vintage clearly needs more time. I thought this vintage was drinking fairly well shortly after the release but it appears to be in a transition phase. I'm laying the other bottles down for at least another year but I believe this vintage likely needs even longer.
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12/18/2016 - Cabernet4me2 Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is a monster with a grip of tannins that are still a bit overwhelming the fruit. In all fairness popped it open and don't think it had nearly enough time in decanter and glass.. (1 hr), but I think I can see where its headed and that's a good place!
Agree with others - holding the next bottle opening for a year or a long decant. It had a Great bouquet on opening.. but the entire time just seemed to be muted and never opened up, possible dumb phase??
Mostly black and blue fruit, w/ hint of purple too. Got a mouth coating of baking spice and graphite which seemed to last for minutes... but lacked really any finish.
Happily think this will pop a point or two in some time once it can "work it all out!" Similar to the 13 Kobalt.
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7/11/2016 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 95 Points
Napa Visit 2016; 7/10/2016-7/13/2016: -3 hrs decant, needed more. Pours dark purplish/black. Explosive fruit on a great nose. Dark fruit, heavy tannins. Still some wood. Let these infants rest 5-7 years for best results. A lot of promise here. 95+ pts.
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4/16/2016 - ageverett Likes this wine: 91 Points
Slow ox for 7 hours. Had side-by-side with 2013 Frank Family Reserve (Rutherford).
This was still too tight in my opinion. After tasting, I generally drank the Frank and went back to this later (after dinner). It was still tight, and the finish was very tannic. There is plenty of nice, dark mountain fruit here; I just think it needs some time in the bottle. Actually reminded me of my experiences with the 2013 Quivet cabs at this early stage.
I will note that some others preferred the Outpost and drank it with dinner, so this was not universal.
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4/16/2016 - WineGold wrote: 94 Points
93 day 1.
94 day 2.
Cassis, blackberry, blueberry, vanilla on the finish. Huge structure, huge fruit, and equally huge tannin. Everything is in balance, which is quite an accomplishment with such a young wine. This is all rather primary at the moment. It's balanced, but not really integrated. That'll come with years. This wine will improve for at least 5 years, and should drink well for a decade and a half, or two.
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3/19/2016 - brianofthevine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tasted at the winery. Great wine here with bright blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry fruit, and subtle licorice. Firm structure throughout and nice sweet smooth tannins on the end with a long finish. This is going to be great one over time.
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3/16/2016 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 94 Points
Howell Mountain Spring Wine Trade Tasting. Nose of berry rather than cherry fruit, currants, and a touch of briar, more of the same on the palate, medium/big body, fairly intense, tasty, rich fruit, better in 2/3 years, long, long, flavorful finish. Retail $85
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3/15/2016 - bigdogflow Likes this wine:
Tasted at Outpost tour
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2/8/2016 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Had this at the winery with yonster24 and others. This is a great winery to visit if you get a chance. KC is great and a fantastic host.
No formal notes -- too many wines and not enough time. This was my second favorite of the tasting behind the True Cab. That said, it was much more approachable and certainly you should pull this one out before the True. It is teeth staining purple, with a gorgeous core of black fruit. The tannins are still pretty hefty, and it requires a lot of air for this to show even a fraction of what it can do (got much better over the hour we were there). I didn't feel it was as stacked and endowed as the True, but loved it all the same. An incredible deal at $85.
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2/7/2016 - yonster24 wrote:
Cristal2000 and I went to the winery over the weekend (along with quite a few others) and had this at the winery. This was probably decanting for only a little while before we started as towards the end of our tasting is when this really started to SHINE.
Black fruit, black currant, graphite on the nose. Full bodied wine but the fruit is held firmly in check and not over ripe whatsoever. Clean, lively but not even close to coming out of it's shell. STRUCTURE on this wine. Long finish with tannins and acidity very much backing this baby up. This is my kind of cab. Built for the long haul and not overdone. Loved it. (Possibly even more than the TRUE Cab I had from them.)
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2/4/2016 - mekeane Likes this wine: 91 Points
A little bit young but delicious. Will get better with a few years. Beautiful color and robust taste I expect from a Howell Mountain Cab.
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1/7/2016 - csimm wrote: 94 Points
Tasted at Outpost alongside the 2013 Immigrant and Zinfandel.
Similar to my CT notes on 10/12/2015. The 2013 Outpost Howell Mountain Cabernet has a lot going on, with purple, red, and black berry notes all swarming around the palate, especially an interesting black raspberry streak that really enhances the other fruit flavors. Additional nuances of plum, volcanic ash, chalk, black and red licorice, and faint vanilla.
As with all of TRB's Cabernets here at Outpost, the tannin management here is excellent. No harsh edges at all; just youthful vibrancy and primal fruit flavors just waiting to pop. Wait another year at least to let the fruit expand, allowing the chalky grip to release a little more. Decant for a number of hours if you choose to open early. Good QPR considering what's in the bottle.
Also, the property at Outpost is gorgeous. Highly recommended for a visit if you are in the area.
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10/15/2015 - MC2 Wines wrote: 90 Points
Megamoon Part I: Napa; 10/13/2015-10/16/2015 (Napa Valley California): Again very big fruit although interesting to read the previous note because I got more in the red family than black. Lots of cranberry and then this flavor I couldn't quite place but think fleshy red sour fruit and then oddly enough just a hint of watermelon which was not out of place and worked well with the wine. Lighter spice and while I think this wine was meant to be drunk young, it seems to have the ability to lie down for a bit too.
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10/12/2015 - csimm wrote: 94 Points
ACME Wine Tasting (Saint Helena): The 2013 Outpost Howell Mountain Cabernet immediately opens up with black and purple fruit flavors; blackberry, black raspberry, blueberry, dark plum, black licorice, asphalt, and inviting vanilla bean/creme de cassis notes. Tightly coiled fruit, but accessible after 30 minutes of slow O2. Will undoubtedly improve over the next 2-3 years.
I would wait on this wine until 2017 before attempting to determine its true primary drinking window. When tasted, it was poured via a Coravin, so its exposure to air was extremely limited. Even so, I would rate this as a 94+ with a promising future for even more improvement. A pleasurable drink with a hedonistic suppleness to it. Made me want to keep coming back for another sip. If you can't wait to pop the cork, decant for at least 2-3 hours.
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