Old school cab, without the high extraction and fruit forward flavors. Other reviews have hit the mark on this. Though it is really enjoyable now, but I preferred the Burgess' of a the late 90's which to me were such an amazing value in exceptional cab.
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An old school Napa cab that shows what can happen when some of these wines aren’t made to be fruit forward and are allowed to evolve in the bottle. Cassis, red licorice, graphite, leather, red cherries, medium tannins, some acidity, and a long and lingering finish. Drinking well now, but still has some room to evolve, depending on what you like.
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Notes of vanilla and violets are followed by energetic Howell mountain Estate dark fruit, earth, and minerals. Nicely dense dark fruit builds complexity on the lower palate with the juicy, mountain acidity riding shotgun on the high palate and extending out the mineral and mocha-filled medium+ finish. It's nice to have choices, I always say, but this wine, with its currently generous temperament, would be an easy to quaff everyday drinker. (Yeah right, a daily drinker that needs 6 years of cellaring from a great vintage? You lost me there!)
For those keeping score, the substantial acidity is still dominating the fruit. Left in the opened bottle for 2 hours at room temperature; lots of sediment noted.
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Paired with 1.5” tenderloins with a nice mole sauce. Sous vide carrots. Roasted potatoes. Salad. Very nice wine with this tenderloin. Tannins are so relaxed. Smooth. Still nice on the nose. Not a lot of structure or complexity. Not a long finish but long on the nose. Deep red berries. Decanted for 2 hours. Served at about 68*. We think it was a fantastic pairing. Sad it’s our last bottle
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Drank over 2 days. Dark ruby red. It was only within the first 30 min out of the decanter when dark fruit notes were present in the bouquet. From then onwards mostly a lot of heat on the nose. Rich palate with strong emphasize on spices, mostly white pepper and very little dark fruits. Nice mouth coating finish with some heat in the finish. The predominantly spicy character make the wine appear much richer in alcohol then it really is 14.5%
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Disappointed as the pronounced notes were harsh & the merlot & malbec had not yet intergrated for harmony. Overwhelming currant & imbalanced spice. Not what I would expect for Howell Mtn of 2010.
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Currant, vanilla, cocoa and toasted bread nose with a floral lift. Classic and curranty palate; full, rich, and structured finish. Among one of the more complete and balanced 2010's I have sampled. 4/5
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This is a great Cali Cab. Buy it up while you have a chance. Great fruit. Well integrated. Firm tannic background . Long finish. Will likely go for years.
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Very balanced Cabernet from Howell Mountain. Blue fruits on the nose with spice. Not vegetal, but almost old world in style. Fruit is the dominant component, but the balance and "greenness" of of the wine is excellent. Anise, chocolate, cigar box complete this elegant and affordable wine. Merlot and Syrah add to the blend. Excellent value for Napa cab, and even more enjoyable with food.
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Consistent notes from last tasting, though the tannic nose has mellowed. Inviting deep, fruity bouquet. Dense and rich with a lot of jammy, black fruit. Very pleasing. Score [ 50 + 5 + 12 +17 + 7 ] = 91.
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Deliciously approachable cabernet from Napa. It wasn't over the top ripe, nor did it fall short on the palate. Beautiful aromas of cassis and vanilla slowly opened up while we quickly drained this wine. Would've liked to see how it would evolve or even age. Did not feel alcohol of 14.5% at all. Nicely balanced cab. Drink up!
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Great value! Big bold Napa-style cab. Rich aromas of minerals, wet pavement. Palate is bold with firm tannins balanced by blueberry, blackberry and black cherry. Needs a day to open up, but worth the wait.
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4/27/2022 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Darn delicious stuff right now. Got even better on day two.
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5/11/2020 - Quarked wrote: 90 Points
Old school cab, without the high extraction and fruit forward flavors. Other reviews have hit the mark on this. Though it is really enjoyable now, but I preferred the Burgess' of a the late 90's which to me were such an amazing value in exceptional cab.
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11/2/2018 - Rscholtz Likes this wine: 92 Points
An old school Napa cab that shows what can happen when some of these wines aren’t made to be fruit forward and are allowed to evolve in the bottle. Cassis, red licorice, graphite, leather, red cherries, medium tannins, some acidity, and a long and lingering finish. Drinking well now, but still has some room to evolve, depending on what you like.
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10/17/2018 - GQG Likes this wine: 91 Points
Notes of vanilla and violets are followed by energetic Howell mountain Estate dark fruit, earth, and minerals. Nicely dense dark fruit builds complexity on the lower palate with the juicy, mountain acidity riding shotgun on the high palate and extending out the mineral and mocha-filled medium+ finish. It's nice to have choices, I always say, but this wine, with its currently generous temperament, would be an easy to quaff everyday drinker. (Yeah right, a daily drinker that needs 6 years of cellaring from a great vintage? You lost me there!)
For those keeping score, the substantial acidity is still dominating the fruit. Left in the opened bottle for 2 hours at room temperature; lots of sediment noted.
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9/17/2018 - ChickenNoodle Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep brooding wine with intense dark fruit. Well balanced and drinking really well right now.
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7/12/2018 - Kucci Does not like this wine: 80 Points
Overwhelmed with a almost “sour” raspberry and oak. The wine almost tasted sweet. Did not enjoy.
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6/16/2018 - uzzi Likes this wine: 90 Points
Paired with 1.5” tenderloins with a nice mole sauce. Sous vide carrots. Roasted potatoes. Salad. Very nice wine with this tenderloin. Tannins are so relaxed. Smooth. Still nice on the nose. Not a lot of structure or complexity. Not a long finish but long on the nose. Deep red berries. Decanted for 2 hours. Served at about 68*. We think it was a fantastic pairing. Sad it’s our last bottle
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3/10/2018 - uzzi Likes this wine: 90 Points
Not as big as we were expecting. Tannins were soft. Nose is full of berries. Likely typical Cali Cab. Great wine with a big TBone!
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6/18/2017 - vinelouse wrote: 88 Points
Drank over 2 days. Dark ruby red. It was only within the first 30 min out of the decanter when dark fruit notes were present in the bouquet. From then onwards mostly a lot of heat on the nose. Rich palate with strong emphasize on spices, mostly white pepper and very little dark fruits. Nice mouth coating finish with some heat in the finish. The predominantly spicy character make the wine appear much richer in alcohol then it really is 14.5%
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1/15/2017 - adrenalin112 Does not like this wine: 88 Points
Disappointed as the pronounced notes were harsh & the merlot & malbec had not yet intergrated for harmony. Overwhelming currant & imbalanced spice. Not what I would expect for Howell Mtn of 2010.
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9/5/2016 - sschacter Likes this wine: 91 Points
Raspberries and blackberry notes. Large tannins. Jammy, but no strong oak.
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6/22/2016 - Kopperl Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nice Howell Mt wine. Good finish. Drank over two days and it was even better the second day. Give it a few hours to really open up.
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5/8/2016 - Rscholtz Likes this wine: 90 Points
Bright acidity with very firm tannins. Typical Napa Cabernet, and can easily go another year or even two.
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12/27/2015 - garyty wrote: 90 Points
Very enjoyable wine and great value for CA cab.
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12/7/2015 - Double-A Likes this wine: 90 Points
Currant, vanilla, cocoa and toasted bread nose with a floral lift. Classic and curranty palate; full, rich, and structured finish. Among one of the more complete and balanced 2010's I have sampled.
4/5
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11/28/2015 - Gianni13 wrote: 89 Points
Hanging in there. This specific btl not too expressive. Better the second night. A bit tannic in general.
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11/26/2015 - wine pro 76 Likes this wine: 90 Points
very dark in the glass. nice full feel in the mouth well balanced enjoyable wine! drinking really well
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9/28/2015 - garyty wrote: 91 Points
Thought this was way better the second day. Terrific QPR.
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9/6/2015 - Nomadirish wrote: 85 Points
Fine wine - not too notable though
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9/5/2015 - Gianni13 wrote: 92 Points
This is a great Cali Cab. Buy it up while you have a chance. Great fruit. Well integrated. Firm tannic background . Long finish. Will likely go for years.
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8/8/2015 - qtsam11 wrote: 90 Points
Ripe fruit. Sweet tannins. Could have used another year or two of bottle age. Nice wine.
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7/2/2015 - RayT Likes this wine: 90 Points
Pretty smooth. Takes a couple hours to open up. Much better with food.
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6/13/2015 - bkmt wrote: 90 Points
Another good one. Black and blue fruit, dark cherry and blueberry. Sweet tannins.
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6/3/2015 - Pknut wrote:
Pretty solid, balanced Napa Cab. With Marty C. at Seamstress, UES.
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5/24/2015 - objective rater Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent drinking wine for the sale price of $29. I ran back and bought all that was left.
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4/18/2015 - LEEJV123 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Full, rich, round, long, exuberant
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4/10/2015 - Paradigm Media wrote: 88 Points
Very balanced Cabernet from Howell Mountain. Blue fruits on the nose with spice. Not vegetal, but almost old world in style. Fruit is the dominant component, but the balance and "greenness" of of the wine is excellent. Anise, chocolate, cigar box complete this elegant and affordable wine. Merlot and Syrah add to the blend. Excellent value for Napa cab, and even more enjoyable with food.
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2/13/2015 - CameronSumpter Likes this wine: 90 Points
Blackberry and plum on the nose. Currant with faint plum. Pretty full-bodied. Complex enough to justify a 90 but nothing more for my palate.
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12/28/2014 - roybivens Likes this wine: 91 Points
Consistent notes from last tasting, though the tannic nose has mellowed. Inviting deep, fruity bouquet. Dense and rich with a lot of jammy, black fruit. Very pleasing. Score [ 50 + 5 + 12 +17 + 7 ] = 91.
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12/19/2014 - jinatnrt Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deliciously approachable cabernet from Napa.
It wasn't over the top ripe, nor did it fall short on the palate.
Beautiful aromas of cassis and vanilla slowly opened up while we quickly drained this wine. Would've liked to see how it would evolve or even age. Did not feel alcohol of 14.5% at all. Nicely balanced cab. Drink up!
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8/10/2014 - Jgallup wrote: 91 Points
Great value! Big bold Napa-style cab. Rich aromas of minerals, wet pavement. Palate is bold with firm tannins balanced by blueberry, blackberry and black cherry. Needs a day to open up, but worth the wait.
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7/18/2014 - roybivens Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tannic nose with an inviting deep, fruity bouquet. Dense and rich with a lot of jammy, black fruit. Very pleasing. Score [ 50 + 5 + 12 +17 + 7 ] = 91.
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