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…
Much more accessible and giving than the Howell Single Cluster, this Block 1 is a powerful and tannic animal. Black cherry, plum, and some earth. Medium complexity and depth of flavor, this wine is…
From Magnum. Much like the Single Cluster Oakville, this Howell Mountain offering is black cherry dominant, with some red cherry and vanilla alcohol notes injected into the core. The initial attack…
My prior notes from last year apply. PnP was fine, with some nice dark chocolate and rich black soil notes complimenting the dark, earthy black cherry core. Rich and seemingly low in grip and frame.
Horizontal of the 2015 Estate, Stags, and Howell Cabernets. More earthy and funky than the Estate or Stags, this Howell offering from Revana displayed a soil-driven meatiness that was interesting, if…
Previous notes apply. I love how the ripe pear, fresh lime, and grass notes intertwine amongst the yellow citrus and white stone core fruit. Drink now.
My first experience with this wine. It unfolded really nicely throughout the evening. A ton of verve here, with a tension that provides a hyper-focused delivery of flavors. As others have noted, it…
Served alongside a 2012 Fleury BDX, also from Howell Mountain, which was a little more structure driven and less giving in the dark core fruit flavor department when compared to the more…
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…
All of my previous notes apply. This was served side-by-side with a 2013 Arkenstone SB. I favored this 2014 for its elevated intensity and more powerful flavor drive. Nice energy and complexity.
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…
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…
Served alongside the 2014 Arkenstone SB, which I preferred for its elevated intensity and push of flavors. This 2013 was good, but it had less verve. The tail end was fairly short, fading off fast.…
Same notes as last year. One of the top wines of the night. Even better on day 2, which leads me to believe a couple of years will suit this wine even better. Great black/blue/red fruit. Some nice…
Same as my notes on this wine from last month. Black and purple core fruit (with some streaks of dark red), cassis, spice, and some licorice. More frame and grip than the 2015 Outpost Immigrant…
Served next to the 2015 Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon (which I preferred ever so slightly - mainly for its elevated frame and grip). Purple and black core fruit, with black currant, black soil,…
Same as last month and other previous notes before. A high-functioning SB for sure in my opinion. Weight, intensity, purity, acid, and flavor all hit the right registers with this version of the…
Finished a bottle that was the victim of a few previous Coravin taps over the past month or so. This was the best showing out of this bottle yet. Allowed some time in the glass to really get some…
Another Coravin pour. Seems to have moved along to a riper stage with some air. I had a Coravin issue with a Quivet LPV at the same time last week when I hit this bottle too; so, maybe there was some…
Same notes as before. An hour+ of air brought out some really nice boysenberry and bitter dark chocolate notes. A wine I should leave alone for another year or two. 95-96+ points.
Coravin pour. As others have noted, this needs 2-3 more years to get its full act together. Enticing notes of black core fruit, black licorice, black mulch, asphalt, and some river rock.
Another Coravin pour. Same notes as before. Started to show more layers and depth over an hour of consumption. Needs time, but definite promise in a couple of years.
Flawed indeed... Cedar, alcohol, black currant. The best part was the Twilight Zone experience that I had just after I took a sip (and a whiff) of this "wine"... As soon as I ended up taking my first…
Coravin pour, with initially linear, but beautifully pure black and purple core fruit flavors. Blackberry, black raspberry, black cherry, black currant, pencil lead, and some subtle earth. A bit of…
Similar to my previous note. Missing a little oomph, especially as it warmed up, losing some of the unique lime flavors that jumped out back when I had this in February. Still a great SB. The score…
