Howell Mountain Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Elegant and rather restrained for a howl Mountain Cab - bright acidity balance rock blackberry, cassis, violet and black cherry fruit. Well now but has the tannin, acidity and complexity to last and improve off the next decade

I thought the previous #coravin killed this one but after about 3 hrs it reopened for Business

Back in 2006, I had the good fortune to invest in a box of the Neal vineyard designated bottlings pre-release. They have been sleeping in my cellar ever since. Last night, Tony the Fish, who is a frequent contributor to these pages, arrived with a bottle of the 2010 Neal cab sav. It was a solid effort and Mrs Fish quite enjoyed it. As we finished the bottle I remembered I had some of the 2003 vineyard designated wines in the back of the cellar and figured it was time to check in on them. We started with the Second Chance from Atlas Peak. Generally I am a mountain fruit guy, and like the volcanic soil that yields low yielding structured wines. There was plenty of stuffing left after 11 years, and a nice contrast to the 2010 cab sav blend. We then moved to Chafen. Another mountain- Howell this time, slightly lower elevation vineyard. This wine was bigger than the Second Chance with mouthfuls of ripe cassis, berry fruit and coffee- almost a cocoa powder character to it. The final wine of the night - and best of show - was the Howell Mountain Estate. Dark rich tannins with intense velvety chocolate cake flavors. This was a fun night going from the 2010 blend to the all 2003 single vineyard designates. Most of us aren't patient enough or buy them as a group so you can taste them altogether at once. Everyone should do this from to time. It reminds me at least of how different climate and soil can be in the same year. It's even better with friends. Thank you Mr Fish for the inspiration.

So lush and hedonistic.

It's all there too!

Great savory Howell cab. Little Brett but nice.

Bottle #3537 -

Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

1hr+ decant. Medium red color with maroon rims. Massive floral nose. Bordeaux like in style. Rustic and deep. High quality all the way. See previous notes.

This was great! Reminded me of all those great Bordeaux’s we had while in London. 1hr+ decant. Purple color with maroon tones. Dominated by cedar on the nose and palate. Medium plus depth and finish, which had some olives/CDP on it. Well integrated tannins with a nice sweetness.

Bottle #2853
Deep ruby color. Aromas of blueberry, blackberry jam, violets and earth/rock. Beautiful wine! Full of black and blueberry flavors, cassis, licorice and dry, earthy finish.