very fruit forward and barely aged at 16. supple blueberries, cherry, raspberry...integrated with the raspberry a bit over sharp in the mid palate. not much in terms of tannic backbone or structure....will age much longer and like most Howell Mountains....I think will go 20-30 years. This bottle is alignment with that timeline.
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Nice. A mouthful of fruit upfront, smooth but noticeable tannin on the finish, everything well integrated. Seems to be opening up on the mid-palate with some more air. No bricking, no fading, sure seems like it'd hold a while, though there's nothing going on in my first glass to suggest it's going to get better either.
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Decanted for 90 minutes before drinking. The nose was a blast of red fruit. After 90 minutes, the tannins were upfront and the wine was a bit disjointed. By the last glass, the wine was very well integrated. Will buy more to hold for a few more years. Good effort.
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I liked this quite a bit. Classic cassis, smoke, menthol with a hint of green olive. Mineral tinged, the fruit is dark and sweet, but not overextracted, while tannins are medium. Drink now and over the next 3-5 years.
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Fairly consistent with prior notes, but this time I'm noticing there's actually quite a bit of citrus in the mouth. Pretty unusual. This isn't my typical style of wine, but I really like this stuff.
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Double Blind Cabernet Tasting; 8/31/2010-9/2/2010 (NYC): Update: 50% filled, fully recorked, and cracked back open on day three. This had totally fallen apart and oxidized. Doesn't have the structure to go for the long run. Good enough wine on opening. However, many who purchase this wine b/c it's a "Howell Mountain" will be disappointed. I'll have to bump this down a few points. Certainly not a wise purchase at its price point.
Drink now. 86 -JRS
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Double Blind Cabernet Tasting; 8/31/2010-9/2/2010 (NYC): Nose of plum, sweet raspberries and vanilla oak. Hits the palate the same, but a bit candied, with less oak. Pretty nice balance overall with good acidity cutting through a somewhat creamy mouthfeel. Medium finish. A very good wine, but not outstanding.
Drink now. 88 -JRS
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I prefer bigger/bolder Howell Mtn efforts. I have tasted both the 2004 and 2005 in recent weeks and just don't think this winemaker's style fits my palate. It is very good, but many will prefer stronger tannins, a bit more oak, etc.
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Nice Napa cab. Full and reasonably round without being overextracted or overoaked. Nose of purple fruits with slight alcohol behind. Acidic dark fruits with a touch of strawberry. While young, I'm not sure this will really improve with time.
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Last time we had this was about 8 months ago. This bottle was not as disjointed as the last one was at the start and didn't need all that extra time to sort itself out. It appears to have done that quite well while resting for the last 8 months. Great stuff and a great value for Howell Mountain juice.
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Did not have super expectations. Turns out to be a great QPR for Howell Mountain. Really good and enjoyable. Dark red, red fruit, olive and cedar on the nose... best though is in the mouth, great fruit (not jammy), sort of 'sweet' in a way. Good finish, strawberry, raspberry, cocoa. yummy. Beats many 3x the price.
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I am always amazed by the ability of a good wine to transform itself over a really short period of time. We opened this bottle and poured ourselves a glass each and let it come up to temperature for about 30 mins. The nose showed a lot of ripe red fruits and berries with a touch of pine needles. Initially the acidity seemed a little high and the wine was a little disjointed and backwards but still pretty good. I left it out overnight and the transformation was quite amazing. Flavors all balanced out and came together to make a wonderful, well balanced wine. An amazing value for a Howell Mountain Cab. This is a great effort from Bill Smith, who is currently much better known for his fleet of WH Smith pinots.
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Pleasant dark plum and cherry aromas and flavors with floral and oaky notes. Delicious chewy tannins on the finish. Enjoyed this one!. Has more upside potential than the 2003.
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12/12/2020 - DesMarteau Likes this wine: 93 Points
very fruit forward and barely aged at 16. supple blueberries, cherry, raspberry...integrated with the raspberry a bit over sharp in the mid palate. not much in terms of tannic backbone or structure....will age much longer and like most Howell Mountains....I think will go 20-30 years. This bottle is alignment with that timeline.
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10/30/2015 - Adventr.us Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice. A mouthful of fruit upfront, smooth but noticeable tannin on the finish, everything well integrated. Seems to be opening up on the mid-palate with some more air. No bricking, no fading, sure seems like it'd hold a while, though there's nothing going on in my first glass to suggest it's going to get better either.
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5/1/2011 - ssnyder2323 wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for 90 minutes before drinking. The nose was a blast of red fruit. After 90 minutes, the tannins were upfront and the wine was a bit disjointed. By the last glass, the wine was very well integrated. Will buy more to hold for a few more years. Good effort.
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12/4/2010 - rben_mvp wrote: 87 Points
just okay for me, there are much better wines at better value out there.
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9/30/2010 - rmodak wrote: 89 Points
I liked this quite a bit. Classic cassis, smoke, menthol with a hint of green olive. Mineral tinged, the fruit is dark and sweet, but not overextracted, while tannins are medium. Drink now and over the next 3-5 years.
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9/15/2010 - CdP in NYC wrote: 88 Points
Fairly consistent with prior notes, but this time I'm noticing there's actually quite a bit of citrus in the mouth. Pretty unusual. This isn't my typical style of wine, but I really like this stuff.
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9/2/2010 - CdP in NYC wrote: 86 Points
Double Blind Cabernet Tasting; 8/31/2010-9/2/2010 (NYC): Update: 50% filled, fully recorked, and cracked back open on day three. This had totally fallen apart and oxidized. Doesn't have the structure to go for the long run. Good enough wine on opening. However, many who purchase this wine b/c it's a "Howell Mountain" will be disappointed. I'll have to bump this down a few points. Certainly not a wise purchase at its price point.
Drink now. 86 -JRS
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8/31/2010 - CdP in NYC wrote: 88 Points
Double Blind Cabernet Tasting; 8/31/2010-9/2/2010 (NYC): Nose of plum, sweet raspberries and vanilla oak. Hits the palate the same, but a bit candied, with less oak. Pretty nice balance overall with good acidity cutting through a somewhat creamy mouthfeel. Medium finish. A very good wine, but not outstanding.
Drink now. 88 -JRS
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9/5/2009 - NDrulz wrote: 88 Points
Good, a little too fruity
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2/15/2009 - bigdomer wrote: 88 Points
I prefer bigger/bolder Howell Mtn efforts. I have tasted both the 2004 and 2005 in recent weeks and just don't think this winemaker's style fits my palate. It is very good, but many will prefer stronger tannins, a bit more oak, etc.
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10/12/2008 - trankin wrote: 90 Points
Nice Napa cab. Full and reasonably round without being overextracted or overoaked. Nose of purple fruits with slight alcohol behind. Acidic dark fruits with a touch of strawberry. While young, I'm not sure this will really improve with time.
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9/1/2008 - pjhr wrote: 91 Points
As tasty as the last bottle!
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4/4/2008 - Rob MacKay wrote:
Last time we had this was about 8 months ago. This bottle was not as disjointed as the last one was at the start and didn't need all that extra time to sort itself out. It appears to have done that quite well while resting for the last 8 months. Great stuff and a great value for Howell Mountain juice.
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1/13/2008 - cadamson wrote: 92 Points
Did not have super expectations. Turns out to be a great QPR for Howell Mountain. Really good and enjoyable. Dark red, red fruit, olive and cedar on the nose... best though is in the mouth, great fruit (not jammy), sort of 'sweet' in a way. Good finish, strawberry, raspberry, cocoa. yummy. Beats many 3x the price.
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7/30/2007 - Rob MacKay wrote: 93 Points
I am always amazed by the ability of a good wine to transform itself over a really short period of time. We opened this bottle and poured ourselves a glass each and let it come up to temperature for about 30 mins. The nose showed a lot of ripe red fruits and berries with a touch of pine needles. Initially the acidity seemed a little high and the wine was a little disjointed and backwards but still pretty good. I left it out overnight and the transformation was quite amazing. Flavors all balanced out and came together to make a wonderful, well balanced wine. An amazing value for a Howell Mountain Cab. This is a great effort from Bill Smith, who is currently much better known for his fleet of WH Smith pinots.
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3/14/2007 - pjhr wrote: 91 Points
Pleasant dark plum and cherry aromas and flavors with floral and oaky notes. Delicious chewy tannins on the finish. Enjoyed this one!. Has more upside potential than the 2003.
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