Exquisitely framed flavors of perfectly ripened black cherry, dark cassis, plum skin, black raspberry, dark chocolate, dehydrated blueberries, and some subtle sweet oak char. There is a floral note…
Previous notes apply. Another fantastic showing from this "base" model Cabernet. The mid-palate and complexity are indeed notable from this sub-$100 wine. Punches above its weight class for sure.…
Color me the outlier...again... Maybe I need to trade in my palate for a new one...? If you're running late for work, the punchline for those holding bottles is to wait another year+. If you have…
From barrel. The David Howell Mountain presents with a ripe plum and cherry syrup core. Some earthy kirsch, currant, and mocha notes compete for attention as well. The flavors seem to be there, but…
A supple and approachable wine, with a fun and unpretentious profile that offers round red and black berry fruit. The Merlot component softens the edges, allowing the Cabernet Sauvignon to show its…
Same as 8 months ago. Drinking solid on PnP, with some slight acidic constriction on the back end with the initial pull. Improved/deepened more with some air in the glass. Good now, but I'll try to…
Day 2 for this bottle. More exposure to air really brought out a deepening of the flavors and allowed for some of the fatty booze to blow off. Richer and deeper, with sappy red and black raspberry,…
This sample was from a day-old opened bottle of EE, which was much more even-keeled and less alcohol ridden than on PnP. Signs of good things to come from this wine after some short term cellaring.…
PnP, with purple/black core fruit. Streaks of dark red/black raspberry and bruised strawberry added elevated complexity, along with notes of fresh vanilla bean, blackberry, asphalt, and some dried…
A gorgeous and massive frontal attack of black and purple core fruit, with black raspberry, bitter chocolate, dark cassis, and spice notes. Similar to the '16 EE served beside it, but with less overt…
Huge blackberry and black raspberry core fruit, with waves of boozy red and black licorice, black cherry liqueur, currant, and spice. Delivering flavor like a hussie barrel sample from a brothel in…
From .750. While the David's Cuvée was noticeably less intense in .750 than from magnum the day before, the Danger D was fairly similar between the two bottling sizes. Possibly a hair less…
From magnum. This wine was showing much more power and intensity than when I last had it back in September 2017. I can only assume the magnum effect is what was potentially preserving this wine much…
The first bottle was corked. This second bottle delivered pretty smooth, rounded plum and black cherry notes, with some currant, vanilla, and black dirt flavors. Not incredibly complex, but still…
60/40 CS/CF. Spicy black cherry, wild black raspberry, currant, black soil, rainbow peppercorn, Christmas spice, and hints of leather. The front end was heavy with spice, leading ahead of the fruit.…
I believe this is the "Tapestry" label, but CT has some name cross-pollination with calling it Tapestry and/or the Proprietary blend. It is labeled Tapestry in some vintages (through 2013) and…
PnP and later decanted for about 2+ hours. Black cherry, cedar, red and black currant, tobacco leaf, and faint earth. Especially tight on the back end. Needs another 2+ years minimum. Hold until…
Served alongside a 2012 Tor Cimarossa, also from Howell Mountain, which was a little more giving in the dark core fruit flavor department when compared to the Fleury. The Cimarossa was rounder and…
Similar to my notes on this wine from almost two years ago. This particular specimen was from Magnum. With some swirling in the glass, this delivered some nice earthy black cherry, purple plum,…
Black currant, asphalt, blackberry, black licorice, and subtle dark cassis and violet notes. Drinking very well now, with an accessibility that is indicative of the 2014 vintage. Not as much drive as…
Blackberry, purple plum, licorice, anise, black currant, black cherry, and some spice. A floral note emerged on the tail end as well. Notable energy and drive, especially compared to the 2014. A…
A great showing with this wine. Open for business and displaying wonderfully focused and flavorful blue and black fruit, blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, black asphalt, tar, black currant,…
Cassis, black cherry, black currant, bitter chocolate, and some electric purple plum. Some baby fat still present, but it eased up pretty fast and became a medium-bodied plush stuffed animal in…
The only thing that kept this from being 100 points tonight was that the MACDONALD kept coming along and smacking around everything in front of it. All of my previous notes on this EE apply. This is…
