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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.6 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 23 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by wicozani on 10/9/2022 & rated 92 points: Decanted 4 hours before pairing with grilled Tomahawk steaks. A dark ruby in the glass with slightly thinning edges; no bricking. Blackberry, cassis, oak spices, and leather on the nose. Tannins fully resolved. Was an excellent match for the medium rare Tomahawk steaks. Our last from a half case. These have all been outstanding. (351 views) | | | Tasted by King Cab on 4/11/2020 & rated 94 points: I don't get around to certain bottles as early as I thought I would. This one is one I have been thinking of for a long while, the WH Smith Purple Label, a Dodo label. This became something that more site savvy geeks would know better than I, but I believe Rocket Vineyard.? Does that sound right?? Anyway, it's in my glass and its amazing.
Color is still dark, I would never think 13 years on sight alone. The edges are still purple! Nose is super pure, sleek and elegant. It is a joy to sniff but I am here to drink; palate is black currant softened by time but not aged. Edges are curled under and it is just joy. Kirsch-Royal laced and bouncy, This shows thoroughbred bones for sure. Deftly balanced and built for comfort. It is a textbook Napa Cabernet that I would share with anyone, both knowledgeable in wine or novice and I would hold my head high and say, 'Yeah, its mine and I paid $28 bucks for it!'. The mouthfeel on this is amazing: its silky and sophisticated. Long finish and all of the integral Napa Hallmarks stay in place quite nicely;the perfect cab-package if I may. I know I have treated this well in the cellar since purchase and it just proves once again why we do what we do when we do it. Lol (1301 views) | | | Tasted by Dmiller3 on 12/21/2015: Lovely oaked California cab that is still drinking (2850 views) | | | Tasted by wicozani on 6/6/2015 & rated 92 points: Decanted and left in the 59 degree cellar for 2.5 hours before being tasted along with 5 of our best wine-loving friends watching and celebrating the Belmont Stakes telecast. A dark violet-ruby in the glass with slow-forming legs, the complex nose featured red alpine currant, cassis, mocha, forest floor, and oak spices. Very good intensity and concentration, with a long, lingering finish. This Howell Mtn. selection was offered in a lineup that included similarly well-decanted bottles of 2004 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee St. Vivant, 2001 Faustino I Gran Reserva Rioja, 1994 Chateau L'Evangile Pomerol, and 2010 Black Cordon Vineyard Block L Ritchie Vineyard RRV Chardonnay. On balance, this Cab presented very nicely in a star-studded lineup, and was greatly appreciated by all! (3173 views) | | | Tasted by gesusser on 10/10/2014: Delicious (3662 views) | | | Tasted by klausner1 on 9/8/2014: Dark purple in the glass. Violets and red fruit on the nose. Round, ripe. Balanced and juicy. Nice red fruits with a hint of spice. Enjoyable if a little simple. God QPR. (3594 views) | | | Tasted by Dmiller3 on 4/19/2014 & rated 91 points: Drank with Passover pizza and it did not disappoint - smooth drinking, low acidity, and did not decay over dinner - I would guess peaking now
The wine looks violet colored. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like gooseberry, mineral and mineral. The body is light/medium. The wine has satin-like texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity. (3390 views) | | | Tasted by prasm on 8/25/2013 & rated 91 points: Consumed over 2 days, note from day 2. Nose: Medium-plus expressiveness, blue and red fruit, tobacco, and pie crust. Palate: Full bodied - lots of sediment, ripe blue and red fruit attack, with spice, tobacco and earthy flavors - showing it's age quite nicely, still has a solid acidic back-bone. Finish: Lengthy sense of spicy ripe fruit, earth and tobacco. My last of 3 bottles and the best so far, believe this will drink well for at least a few more years. (2364 views) | | | Tasted by pjhr on 7/6/2013 & rated 92 points: Tasty black currant and blueberries on the nose and palate with spicy oak notes finishing with soft tannins and a bit of acidity. (2090 views) | | | Tasted by 32lakeviewwine on 5/12/2013 & rated 90 points: God, but needs more time (1825 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 3/23/2013: 4th Saturday group "uptown" tasting (Rich & Dana's): Inky garnet color. At first this had a strong eucalyptus note- perhaps someone brought a Martha's?- but then this too turned a bit sour and acidic. Muddled red fruit with a sour, acidic finish. (2699 views) | | | Tasted by wicozani on 1/27/2013 & rated 89 points: Opened (but not decanted) 3 hours before pairing with grilled NY strip steaks, trimmed baked potatoes and brown mushrooms. A clear ruby purple in the glass, with a somewhat shy nose of red and black fruits, cassis, oak spices and a noticeable touch of green olive. Good concentration and intensity, with nicely integrating juicy tannins, and a good attack through the mid-palate on into a respectable finish. Was served alongside and, in my opinion, eclipsed by a 2004 Medlock Ames Bell Mtn. Red (99% Cabernet Sauvignon) that was given an equivalent amount of air. Others at the table, however, preferred this over the Medlock. (1736 views) | | | Tasted by prasm on 4/19/2012 & rated 90 points: Consumed over 2 days note from day 2. Nose: Medium expressiveness, smoke, earth, blueberry pie and a hint of floral scent. Palate: Medium-full bodied, nice balance, blue fruit flavors with an acidic kick in the back-end. Finish: Lengthy sense of tangy blue fruit. My second of 3 bottles and this performed quite a bit better than the first consumed last Fall. (2043 views) | | | Tasted by prasm on 10/8/2011 & rated 88 points: Decanted 2 hours, consumed over 4 hours. Nose: A little barnyard that took a couple hours to dissipate, black cherry, rock candy, mint, and earth. Palate: Medium bodied, good acidity, tart dark red fruit up front with acidic tartness dominating through the mid-palate. The medium length finish is dominated by tart under ripe red fruit. Based upon previous notes and my usual enjoyment of Howell Mountain cabernets this was a little disappointing. (2570 views) | | | Tasted by Mike Kopanski on 1/28/2011 & rated 91 points: Walking tour of tasting rooms on Lincoln Ave Calistoga, Ca 1/28/2011: We tasted this at the winery tasting room in downtown Calistoga. They described it as black velvet, and they were right. It is always an adventure to drink Cabernet, from a winery whose owners and managers are unashamed Pinot Noir lovers. This wine was purple, so much so, that the glass, and my teeth were purple. It is big, but at the same time soft, I might say feminine. It is rich and heavy while maintaining it's grace and elegance. There is huge blackberry and all the other dark fruits, but it is not a fruit bomb, and so well balanced, that forget all the analysis, just sip and enjoy. The finish lasted for several minutes. (3147 views) | | | Tasted by Old Sparky on 4/17/2010 & rated 90 points: Opened and poured at dinner. Delicious Wine. Dark, inky color with nice ripe black fruits and oak. Very soft and balanced. If I didn't know what this was, I certainly would not suspect it was from Howell Mountain, especially at this age. 13.9% Alcohol. (3388 views) | | | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 10/14/2009 & rated 91 points: Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting (Galleria at the San Francisco Design Center, SF, CA): Nice cassis, mint, berry nose; plush, soft berry, cassis, chocolate palate; medium finish 91+ pts. (4216 views) |
| By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (10/14/2009)
(W.H. Smith Cabernet Sauvignon Purple Label) Nice cassis, mint, berry nose; plush, soft berry, cassis, chocolate palate; medium finish 91+ pts. 91 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| W.H. Smith Producer website
We’ve gone or come a long way!
Bill purchased the old ghost winery, La Jota Vineyard Co. in 1974 and here we are 39 years later…
Bill and Joan look back and wonder where did the years go, so many wonderful experiences and so much has changed in the wine business. In 1974 the Napa Valley had few wineries and there was no traffic to contend with! The winery owners and winemakers knew one another, there weren’t many to know.
The Smith’s resurrected the La Jota winery and planted Cabernet, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Zinfandel. The first vintage was 1982, and the price was $14 a bottle and that was expensive! The production grew to 4000 cases and the winery sold in 2001 to Markham Vineyards and it is now owned by Kendall Jackson.
Bill and Joan moved down the road and began a new winery. An underground cave of 4,500 square feet. They have 7 acres planted in the Bordeaux varietals from which they produce 700 to 1000 cases of two different Cabernets. The Purple Label is their top tier Cabernet. Both the Bronze and Purple have richness and depth. Both wines are made the same except the Purple gets new French oak.
Pinot Noir is a favorite varietal and Bill looks to cool growing vineyards in the Sonoma Coast appellation when selecting fruit. They produce 4 to 5 Pinot Noirs and each are distinct.
The goal of the Smith’s is to produce wines that are less tannic and drinkable earlier.
Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican 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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