4/2/2024 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

3 hour decant then drank over 3 hours. A surprisingly red fruited Napa Cab Franc. Medium body with raspberry notes. Kinda of reminded me of a Spanish Tempranillo. Young, so it evolved somewhat over time. Enjoyable and offers a nice change of pace from the typical higher end Cabernets I usually drink. 90 now with maybe a point or two higher with age. HMC

3/14/2024 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

PNP then drank over 2 hours. Fairly dense, well balanced, delicious modern styled Cab Franc. Opens with a nose of fresh cherries and florals. As it warmed and got air it settled into a beautiful black cherry flavored wine with great acidity and freshness with a slight spicey note.

94-95 now with maybe a point more to give. HMC

2/23/2024 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

1 hour decant. Then drank over 2 hours. Ripe and ready right out the gate. Big, balanced classic cab in every way. Luscious mouth feel. Delicious cassis and blackberry fruit. Well integrated round in the mouth tannins. Decent finish. Probably the second-best wine I've had this year. 97+ and peaking. HMC

2/21/2024 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Opened for dinner with Mark1npt. Tried an experiment with an ultrasonic aerator. On opening shut down a bit. Not particularly tannic but kind of non-expressive. As it got some air and after aeration it opened up to finally achieve a 93+ rating. If I had more, I'd still hold and see if improves. HMC

2/15/2024 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Picked this up off just some random guy in Napa on latest trip. He had this and a few other wines stored in his garage. So, storage was very suspect.

Popped and poured while outside around the fire at the El Bonita in St Helena. This wine was quite good right off the bat. I noted Boysenberry, Cassis, Cedar, forest floor and a hint of sage. It also had just a hint of that signature Vanilla sweetness that is typical in Venge wines. It was dense, bordering on massive, but not syrupy and had well-polished, integrated tannins. Long and lingering finish at least initially.

As it got air it developed a little more complexity, notably a green pine needle note but also some cocoa and other more red to black berry flavors. Finished this wine with a friend in just over an hour and we were both pretty impressed given where we found it.

I do think this wine was a little more mature than if it had been properly stored from release. So, others might have a younger wine experience, but this one was definitely a drink now. 97 HMC

2/1/2024 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

All day decant, drank over 3 hours at a tasting with JimAronson and Mark1NPT. Really nice classic cab Nose of Cassis with a hint of dry hay. Well resolved on the palette with a decent amount of dry tannins.

Overall, a quality wine, easily identifiable as Napa cabernet. 94 verging on 95 for me. HMC

1/8/2024 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Brought to Prime Rib Dinner at our house by Mark1NPT.

Fantastic nose, perfectly integrated and mature napa Red Blend. This is why people love aged Napa. It had wonderful glide, and a perfect combination of perfume and power. This is like the sexiest female weightlifter; you could ever imagine.

Thanks for opening Mark 97 HMC

11/19/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

After quick this wine was medium bodied, red hued and red fruit dominated. Pleasant but would never guess it was a Syrah. After several hours of air it darkened amazingly and became a meaty, olive and fat Syrah. Just an amazing transformation. I kind of liked it more early on to tell the truth. All in all a nice wine from a region I dont usually explore. 91 HMC

11/8/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Had this opened for me at a local wine store then took home to finish. On PNP I thought it a little thin and sour but after 4 hours of air it improved quite a bit. Didn't take notes but in the end, it was medium full bodied, fairly fruit forward with decent balance. A pleasant napa cabernet though still young tempered, and a good QPR buy at 45 bucks.

92 now with maybe a point or two in it for the future, HMC

10/9/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Decanted for several hours via slow ox then 2 hrs in decanter. Sweet fruit forward and a little primary at first. Maybe 91-92. After several hours it improved in complexity and finished up a 93- 94. Very pleasant wine in the end if you like Kirk's style. HMC

9/15/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Very nice wine and an excellent pairing with the Crab and Lobster at Chops in Naples with Marknpt1 and Spouse. This wine had excellent minerality, light citrus fruit flavors and a light touch of Oak. More crisp than creamy which helps it pair well with rich seafood and sauces. Easy 94 for me tonight. MNC

8/13/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Took this over to a dinner at Mark1NPTs house. Got this at deep discount from local vendor. Very well-made wine. 2 hour decant prior to dinner. Markedly smooth and refined. Medium weight. Typical Napa color though it seems more polished in appearance than most. Restrained nose and dark cherry fruit which faded after decanting. Some sage was noted by tasters. Seemed to improve with time which bodes well for the future.

93 now with 2+ points improvement likely IMO HMC

7/26/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Pretty impressed that you can buy a Howell Mtn AVA wine for under 40 bucks at Costco. And this one is pretty good. Tasty dark fruits, decent nose though not overly expressive. Some wood notes but it is young and that will likely integrate better with time in the bottle. Good acid and decent balance for a youngster. MarkNPT1 gave it a 94+ on initial try.

The only thing keeping this from a higher score for me is that its weight and mouthfeel are just ok. I'll be picking up a few more to cellar. 92 HMC.

7/3/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Tonight, I'm watching the new Apple series - Drops of God and I wanted to drink a wine I had never tasted while I watched. I selected this 19 MH from Janzen. A little sorry Mark and Carol are not with me to enjoy this experience.

This wine Is dark and dense as you would expect. I smell leather, earth, moss, vanilla, raspberry, cherry with a fairly strong lift of alcohol.

I taste cocoa dust, green tea, dark cherry a sweet note of butterscotch after about an hour in the glass. Just a little of that MH red bloody meat note in the back of the palette.

Mouthfeel is dry and dusty, Tannins still slightly young. Full bodied and mouth coating. Good acid which leads to a nice finish.

Wine is very good to excellent now but IMO has not peaked. Enjoy now with a proper decant or hold for a year or two and see if it develops further. 94 HMC

6/18/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Decanted for 4 hours and enjoyed with MarkNPT1 along with a few nice Napa Cabs Mark brought over. This wine was fruit forward but not oversaturated with mostly red and some blue fruit noted. It was well balanced and very drinkable. It did lack a little structure and it was only medium bodied so when compared to a good Napa Cab it rates a few points lower. I enjoyed this wine and thought it had good QPR. 91 pts HMC

6/5/2023 - HowellMountainCru wrote:

Visiting my son In Virginia and near his house are quite a few very nice Wineries. Having lived in VA for 35 years I'm pretty familiar with the VA wine scene. On this day, we travelled out to a polo match at King Family and while all in our group were enjoying whites I, with some trepidation, dove into their highest quality red.

On balance I'd say it was OK, drinkable and on the second day enjoyable for what it is; a medium body Bordeaux blend made with VA grapes. It has the typical Virginia terror; a slight bretty smell that in some wines, not this one, verges on barnyard. The white was smooth with light tannins and fairly well balanced.

Virginia has come a long way but IMO it is still is not a great place to grow red grapes. Its humid, fungus prone, doesn't have a great diurnal spread and typical has pretty heavy, poorly drained soil. Having said this the wine quality is getting better but still does not approach the best regions on the west coast. I'd give this wine a 80 on the first day improving to 84 on the second day for an average of 82. HMC

5/25/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

This TRB made wine from a 5-acre site on Howell Mountain is a dark fruited concentrated and well-balanced Cabernet that is aging well. This wine is transitioning to a more mellow and mature, smooth and well-integrated place but it still retains wonderful black fruit characteristics. Joe Blanton is a wonderful host and this is a recommended visit. 94-95 in its current phase. HMC

5/8/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Just a wow wine. Right out of the bottle intense, viscous huge and overwhelmingly fruit forward. After an hour or two it settles down into a awesome modern Napa cult legend. I've recently had a few really fantastic realm wines and this one IMO blows those away.

One of the more intense concentrated wines I've had this year and my favorite wine of 2023 so far. Great expressive nose, huge fruit forward all the way through, huge weight, over the top glide and a decent finish. Yet balanced and not sappy or cloying. really just a great experience for the Big Napa Cab drinkers. 97 after one hour but probably a bit higher with a decent decant.

5/1/2023 - HowellMountainCru wrote:

Rather simple, primary red blend. Pleasant enough but its lack of complexity has me losing interest after a single glass. There's a reason it's 13 bucks at Costco. 85 HMC

4/15/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

PNP as I needed a second bottle after a Carter Haze cab. Pretty impressive and ready to go. This was a nice contrast to the Carter. It was just a tad brighter and lighter giving it an impression of class. Good but not over the top dark reddish fruit and a decent nose however I didn't really give it much opportunity to blossom. The tasters split on their favorite but I preferred this Venge as I found it well balanced and almost savory and with a better finish. 95 now and a point or two higher with bottle time and proper air. HMC

4/11/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Micro ox'd this in a cooler for 18 hours prior to serving out of a decanter for a prime rib dinner for Marknpt1 and spouse. Big and juicy, full of lush black fruit. Notes of fruit and French oak dominate. Super well-structured, just a bit tannic at first but opens well and drinks great after a few hours. Still hasn't reached its prime IMO 95 HMC

3/22/2023 - HowellMountainCru wrote:

4 hour decant then drank as a part of a multi wine tasting over 3 hours.

Well-made wine, medium heavy to heavy body. On balance this wine was ok but was dominated be green hay notes on both the nose and the palette. I would say it was the greenest wine I have ever tasted/ Think 20111 on steroids. Think Di Contanzo wines on steroids. If sage, grass. herbs di provenance is what you're into... this wine is for you. All 3 tasters tonight unanimously agreed. Not my cup of tea at this time, 91-92 HMC

3/18/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

PNP and drank over the next 2 hours. Third wine of the night with Mr. Ms Mark1npt. The first 2, both Cabs , 18 Hillside Select and a 16 Saunter were both excellent and in the 94-95 range for me. So I was surprised I enjoyed this wine so much. What was striking about it was the pure strong wild berry fruit that just floated my boat. I didn't get a lot of that bloody meat character I always like in MS fruit and the nose wasn't particularly expressive or this would have scored even higher. It's possible that may have arisen with more air but alas it didn't last. This was a well-balanced, fruit forward modern napa cab that I really loved. HMC

2/26/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Second bottle of this wine. Both similar - given 6 plus hours of air then finished on the second day. My impression is that this is a young wine, big, fruit forward, primary, and almost cab like. There are some Syrah notes like bacon fat, plus chocolatey barrel influences and just a touch of dusty herbs. A good value wine but more a cellar defender type IMO. 90-91 HMC

2/8/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

PNP and drank over 3 hours. VG out of the bottle but got better with air till gone. Ultra smooth, well balanced, modern napa cab. Black and blue fruited and towards the end very floral perfumed. An excellent Realm - but quite pricey. Thanks, Gerry, for sharing. HMC easy 96 and given more time maybe higher.

1/11/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Took this to a blind tasting of BDX and Napa Reds with a new group in the Naples hosted wonderfully by new friend KenK. The tasting featured 8 quality and diverse wines. Several of the group seem to favor the BDX palate so it was a big surprise to me that this wine was ranked WOTN. I attribute this to the fact that these experienced tasters valued both the quality and balance of this wine and its fairly unique fruit profile relative to the other wines presented.

A quick note on that- 3 Lynch Bages, of different years, 2 other Fr wines, 2 Checkerboard vintages and this Hourglass.

The French wines were firmly in the red or red/black fruit family.
Most had somewhat muted fruit at least for my palate.

The 2009 Checkerboard, which was my WOTN was black fruited and wonderfully alive and balanced. But the Hourglass was drinking beautifully and exhibited unique blue notes. Great showing again 95 HMC

1/8/2023 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Brought blind to Marknpt1s house for a rib dinner. His guess 2019 napa Valley Cab. Close but actually this was a Venge Merlot. It was very much like a mid tier valley floor Cabernet. It had a very Cab like nose of violets and some barrel influence. It was well integrated, but you could tell it was still young and it actually improved over the drinking window. It gained a little weight and became a bit more fruit forward. My last sips showed a little softening which I usually associate with Merlot so who knows this may in time become more varietally representative. But for now, let's just say this is a decent napa cab at a slightly reduced price. Enjoyable now with 3 or more hours of air with maybe a little improvement in its future, 93 HMC

11/29/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Ready right out of the bottle, black fruited, excellent balance and still strong. For me, in a perfect drinking window in that it still showed beautiful fruit but had mended and mellowed and was just starting to show some aged characteristics on the nose. Had the 13 a month ago and i think this one is every bit as good and perhaps a point better. 96 HMC

10/30/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Very smooth, fruit forward and pleasing wine. At this point young and lacking a ton of character for me; more just ample wonderful fruit.

This wine seems a bit more polished than previous vintages but less tannic and with less acidity. The overall impression is one of softness.

After a 4 hour decant this wine was full bodied, exhibited nice glide and softness that made it easy to drink. However after a few glasses i found I tired of its "mostly fruit" nature and wanted a bit more structure. Still all in all a wonderful wine for Carter lovers with no smoke flaws detected. It was my favorite during my recent tasting of the Carter line up. I'll hold my next few for 6 months to see how they develop. Im guessing the fruit may tame a bit and we'll see if it gains a bit more character. 94 now HMC

10/22/2022 - HowellMountainCru wrote:

3 hour decant then consumed of next 3 hours. Quality wine still a bit young. Slightly tannic to start but settled down during the night. Very black fruited and all agreed with black tea as a descriptor early on. As it took on air. the tannins softened and the fruit turned a bit bluer. It was an easy 94 by the end of the night verging on 95. I think with more maturity it will get there. Real nice wine 94-94 HMC

9/24/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

4th bottle, PNP, just impressions here. Decent late in the tasting, need just a bit more kind of wine. It had plenty of pleasant dark red fruit, decent acidity and low tannins. Easy drinker but nothing special and I doubt it will become anything note worthy. Good QPR though and a good wine to serve to your friends who think 40 bucks is the top end they'd pay for a wine lol. 92 with a little improvement possible. HMC

9/23/2022 - HowellMountainCru wrote:

Opened this for my welcome back Mark1Npt and spouse cookout at my place. About 3 hours of air and I felt this wine was still way primary and grapey. Decent balance of tannins and acid - just too much fruit at this stage.

Drinkable now for fruit firsters but a year or two away for me 92 HMC

9/3/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

An early reveiw to try and help those curious about the 2020 vintage. Ordered this wine from Venge since I know it well from previous vintages.

Wine received 2 days ago. Opened from storage, 58 degrees. Initial thoughts: Nose clean but not overly expressive. Young, slightly tart and bitter, fairly soft, low tannins, fruit forward but not as ripe or saturated as previous vintages. Black Cherry, slight coffee a few greenish notes.

1 hour mark. Room temp. Nose starting to show - Alcohol ifting cranberry and violets maybe some evergreen notes. Bitter and tart notes faided but sltill good acidity and low tannins. Fruit seems to be moving towards the lighter red spectrum. Lets say cherry vs black cherry.

Medium weight verging (but not quite) a big Sonoma Pinot mouth feel.

This is not a typical Silencieux. Lighter , more cherry, picked earlier it seems. Not bad and truly just a baby but no flaws, no smoke elements that I can detect. Doubt this will ever get to be a big wine but pleaseant clean and easy drinking. I'd say 91 now with a point or so projection. HMC

8/29/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Nice wine shared with Mark1NPT and our wives. Though very good, my least favorite of the 4 bottles ( Myriad 18 LPV, 16 Jean Edwards. 16 Patria) we had last night. To me this wine had a hard edge, verging on bitterness that belies its pedigree. Typical B cellar, Venge quality and Miss Hop fruit profile of meaty dark fruit but perhaps just not at the right time to drink as it was not near as smooth and ballanced as the 16s or even the LPV, which BTW was my favorite last night. I even gave this extra air to see if it would settle but alas. (93 for me but perhaps better 95 ish with age. HMC

7/15/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

A nice fruit forward Spanish wine with decent rate indicative if the style. It got better and better with air. 91-92 range for me. HMC

7/11/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Very nice restrained Napa Cab. Decanted for 2 hours and drank over next 3. Nice floral nose with some sweet notes at first. As a testiment to its character and softness Mark1NPT guessed it was a South American blend and Carol thought it was a California Merlot. To me it a fairly typical aged Napa cabernet. Kind of on the light side, with decent acidity and notes of red fruit and tobacco. Improved with air as it got softer and more BDX like. Good QPR if your looking for a mid weight Napa CS just entering its secondary phase. 92 HMC

7/3/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Polished, beatifully balanced wine. Not yet in its prime.

Slow ox'd for 4 hours and decanted and drank over 4 more. Typical high end Napa dark purple color, nice floral but reticent nose. with wood notes prevalent. Young but opening with air, this wine improved throughout the evening. Originally a 94-95 and toward the end a 96 verging on 97. Just beautiful, pure fruit which really stole the show for me and drove the score. Fruit was luscious red rasberry with darker notes.

96 tonight but 98 or a bit better possible with bottle age. HMC

7/1/2022 - HowellMountainCru Does not like this wine:

Occasionally I like to pick up a wine to reset my palate, and rethink my assumptions about what I like in wine. Lately my wife and I have been slightly disappointed in the steady diet of expensive Napa Cabernets we drink, many of which are generously proffered by Mark1NPT.

To that end I was at Costco and purchased a few under $30 wines to try. Several have unusual grape combinations, some are from other countries. I will try and give a more detailed review than the usual 2 word "good value" I normally see at this price point on CT.

This wine is a sub $20 Syrah, Petite Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Zinfandel NV blend. It was opened and drank over 2 days.

The wine is super inky, has a vanallin nose and was extremely primary on day one. My initial thoughts are raspberry jelly lol. On day 2 a little mustiness and leather emerge but it's still lacks any subtlety, and has few interesting nuances.

I do get some Syrah and Mourvedre (olive, spiciness, prune) but the wine is so pumped up for the modern palate that you need to dig deep to find them. The alcohol is present but not too overbearing. Its got plenty of acid to carry all that extraction which allows some balance and a bit of a finish.

Not a wine I would put in my cellar but maybe one to take to a party with your non wine drinking friends. Advise - give it a day of air before indulging. 79 HMC

PS All in all my wife thinks "its gets you there" on a stormy Naples day on the patio.

5/27/2022 - HowellMountainCru wrote:

PNP then drank over 2 hours. This was a still fairly tannic wine that settled down a little as it got air. Fairly fruit forward with some secondary characteristics starting to show. The only thing to stand out for me other than being still too tannic was an almost cranberry flavor within the fruit structure, Not off putting just a bit unusual. Definitely some darker barrel influences but they were muted at this stage and well-integrated. Decent wine but I don't think I would buy again. 91 now and not sure but it might improve with a little more age. HMC

5/20/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Opened and slow ox'd for 3 hours then drank for another 2-3 hours out of a decanter. The wine was exceptionally smooth and well-integrated. Tannins and texture were round in the mouth. Plenty of dark fruit which was a bit less red than an excellent Quintessa 13 that Mark1NPT brought and was enjoyed alongside. My WOTN because of the fruit profile but similar to the Quintessa in most other regards. Drink now for those, like me that enjoy Napa cabs still in their fully mature primary phase. 94 and I don't see it improving much for my palate - HMC

5/5/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Opened as 3rd bottle tonight with friends. More tannic than the excellent Hourglass blueline had beside it, but very drinkable and actually preferred by some at the gathering. Great powerful red and black fruit and with air improving since last drinking. I still think this has a little more to give with age so 94 now with a point or two
improvement possible. HMC

5/2/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

WOTN at a blind tasting of 5 wines. My notes: Powerful, big, grippy tannins, Fruit forward, young, great fruit. Just a wonderful YOUNG wine coiled with energy and potential. The wine was medium heavy weight modern Napa. With a 12 hour decant, eminently drinkable but IMO there's a lot more in there and I see why it has such a great reputation. 96 now but 98-99 possibly more in the future.

5/2/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Solid, pleasant, fruit forward blend. Decent balance, well integrated tannins but a short finish. Chocolate and herbal characteristics were noted during the blind tasting. Given a six hour decant. 92 now with maybe a point more in its future. HMC

4/12/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Just a little addendum to Mark1npt's excellent note on this one. What really struck me was this wine compared to the Myriad Dr. Crane that Mark brought was this was less sweet and more refined. It only became fruit forward after the 8-hour mark but even then it was much softer, balanced and classier than the Myriad. Unlike many 2018 big napa cabs this did not start out fruit primary but just reticent and then opened like a blossom slowly showing better nose and flavors with air. All together a very nice medium heavy modern napa cab with a touch of class and very terroir related notes. 95 HMC

4/1/2022 - HowellMountainCru wrote:

Wine was enjoyable and almost caramelly for the first 30 minutes then quickly moved downhill. One of our blind tasters described it as madeira and I tend to agree. Not sure where this is going but it's going there quickly IMO. I thought it was a solid aged Napa cab at first and would have scored it around a 93-94. After a little air it settled in a 91. HMC

4/1/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Brought by JAronson to blind tasting. My guess was a 2014 French wine as it gave off classic French nose of aged tannins but had a decent amount of fruit vibrancy, The fruit was reddish to me and was quite tasty. To me it was the 3rd WOTN behind a 13 Insignia and a 16 Hourglass cab. It was an excellent addition to our tasting. Thx for bring Jim. 93 HMC

4/1/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

What a fantastic wine brought to our blind tasting by Mark1NPT. WOTN for me. Dark red fruit, classic napa Cab smells, many guessed it was younger than a 13. Super round but still present tannins provide a good scaffold for the still very present fruit and some chocolatey barrel notes. A real pleasure thx Mark. 96 HMC

4/1/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

3-hour slow ox then enjoyed at blind tasting over several hours. This is a very fruit perfumed nose and boy its blueberry. That is followed by a very blue fruited taste. It's very well integrated and soft and is probably peaking for fruit loving drinkers. Good balance, mouthfeel and finish. A few tasters guessed Merlot for its softness, and I would have guessed mountain CF for the fruit character. 95 now and for a while I think HMC

2/12/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Just fantastic soft feminine wine enjoyed at a great tasting with JAronson hosted by Mark1npt. This wine was given 4 hours of air but still improved a little during the tasting. Sweet almost candied nose with beautiful bright notes. Although the tannins were well integrated for such a young wine, I still noticed some saliva stripping at least initially. The wine was soft and red fruit dominate with some blue overtones. It also had a very nice sustaining finish. The weight was fairly heavy, but the wine lacked the mouth coating glide that I remember from the 16 OG. I believe this wine is on the upswing so I would rate it at 97 now with a point more possible as it ages. HMC

1/29/2022 - HowellMountainCru Likes this wine:

Wow, a beautifully aged Napa Cab, drinking wonderfully. My favorite from an evening that included a 13 Wraith, 17 Lazy Susan, 17 Myriad Dr Crane. And I must confess that I generally prefer a younger fruit forward style. But this wine illustrates to me what the right wine aged perfectly can become. Fruit was dark, blue noted and quite vibrant but smoothed and integrated perfectly. The tannins were so smooth, and round and the wine still had energy and freshness. Thanks Jim A, I think we caught this one in a perfect place. HMC