Nathan Renfro

9.3

Deep dark garnet in the glass. Lovely ripe black fruit nose. Very nice smooth mouthfeel. Chalky tannins. An hour + decant is preferred. Blue fruit primarily, with black and red filling in. Minerality, stone, oak, vanilla. This is my first bottle of the 17, we’ll see how it ages, but drinking well, though at this point I prefer the 15. — 2 years ago

Vin d’Ottawa

9.2

Drier and even more delicate than the typical Pinot Noir. — 5 years ago

with Gillian

Carter Pelham

9.5

Beautifully complex. Chocolate, tobacco, spice, cool blue fruits and mint. Already drinking wonderfully — 5 years ago

Aaron Hamrock

9.7

Decanted for about two hours. This is outrageously good red belly wash. Paired with a usda prime ny strip. The fruit (especially blue fruit) paired amazingly well with the protein. — 5 years ago

Maggie J

9.7

BUY MORE OF THIS. Didn’t get to have again but this was a favorite at Tranche. I was sick but mom and Elisia enjoyed it. — 2 years ago

Joe Gillies

9.4

Wow. Wonderful, just amazing right now. Beautiful bouquet of violet and dark fruit. Elegant black and blue fruit with touches of cigar, and charcoal. Sad this is my last bottle! — 5 years ago

Carter Pelham

9.0

Superb.
Strong aromas of dark chocolate
Cooling blue fruit, characteristic WA syrah fruit profile to me
Pretty low acid
On opening felt slightly unbalanced, continued to integrate over 2 hours
Paired wonderfully with salame piccante, bellavitano, and netflix — 5 years ago

with Linh

Ezekiel James Hampton

9.5

The 11 vintage is fantastic now! Lots of powdery concrete, white pepper, blue fruit and cinnamon. — 3 years ago

Andy Hall

9.3

Young and chewy. Shows tremendous black and blue fruit. It will take a few years before the fruit, tannins and acid come into balance. Should be a star in 5+ years. — 3 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I coravined a taste of this last weekend and had my first major disappointment with Ladera. That all changed with a 45 minute decant & food tonight.

This bottling & for many vintages in the early 2000’s was the steal of Howell Mountain producers. I was buying it at Costco for $41-$45. Now & for some time, you can’t find a bottle of this at Costco regardless of price.

The nose as I was decanting it was very perfumed florals with potpourri. Now, the nose sings with the blue & purple fruits that identify wine as a Howell Mountain producer. Blackberries, blueberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, mulberries, dark cherries, black plum, plum, stewed strawberries, raspberries haunt the background, sweet tarriness, dark, berry cola, black licorice, dry & fresh herbs-bay leaf driven, limestone, dry crushed rocks, softly laid baking spices; clove, vanilla, cinnamon & nutmeg, dark spice, dark chocolate bar, dry tobacco, some graphite, soft, used leather with spectacular, candied, fresh & slightly withering; dark, red, purple, blue florals framed in soft violets & fields of lavender.

The body is full, rich, lush and round. The tannins are nicely resolved but, still show baby teeth & tarriness. The tension, structure, length and balance are just the other side of peak. Blackberries, blueberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, mulberries, dark cherries, black plum, plum, stewed strawberries, raspberries haunt the background, sweet, very dark, tarriness, cherry kirsch liqueur, dark, berry cola, black licorice, dry & fresh herbs-bay leaf driven, limestone, dry crushed rocks, moist clay, softly laid baking spices; clove, vanilla, cinnamon & nutmeg, black tea, dark spice with comfortable palate heat, dark chocolate bar, expresso roast, dry tobacco, some graphite, soft, used leather with spectacularly floral, candied, fresh & slightly withering; dark, red, purple, blue florals framed in soft violets & fields of lavender. The acidity is near perfect & holds back the slightly higher ABV. The finish is; rich, round, elegant, sexy, gorgeous, velvety, well balanced and persist endlessly.

Not as outstanding as their 2002 but, very good & still has another 8 years & possibly plus of good drinking ahead. Proper storage of course.

Photos of; Ladera & their beautiful flowered Estate, barrel tasting room, entrance sign with Estate vines & a visual of why Howell Mountain is such a great terroir. It’s above the fog-line and therefore gets more sun than the Napa Valley floor. More sun and cooler temperature at elevation means longer fruit hang time & more even fruit ripening. — 5 years ago