Winery - Rutherford Grove
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A bit green and minty, with wintergreen, cherry and oak flavors wrapped into firm hard, dry tannins. Drink this full-bodied red wine now.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Ripe and gritty in tannins, this young wine brims with freshly picked red cherries, red currants, mocha, violets and sandalwood. It’s a complex, tasty Cab, but needs some time in the bottle. Better after 2011, or give it a good decanting.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Here’s a big, gutsy powerhouse of a Cab. It’s thick in tannins, with concentrated blackberry, black currant, dark chocolate, cedar and spicebox flavors. Nowhere near ready. Classic Howell Mountain. Hold until after 2011, at least, and should develop for many years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
It’s rich in appley, citrus fruit flavors, with spicy fig notes, and the acidity and balance are really good. Has that sweet edge you get in many California Sauvignons.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A near copy of the 2006. Fruity and direct, with candied flavors of blackberries, cherries, raspberries, cola, chocolate and pepper. Now–2012.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Very ripe and forward in cherry and blackberry fruit flavors, while the oak adds toast and vanilla notes. Finishes dry, with sturdy, dusty tannins leading to a sharp finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Very dry and rather tart, this simple wine has easy flavors of berries, herbs and oak. It’s a little astringent, and at its best now.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is a superior wine. This is big, flashy, dramatic, deeply flavored and ageable. Those legendary Howell Mountain tannins are firm, but can’t stop the cassis and mocha flavors from exploding on the palate. Good now, with decanting, and should hold for a good eight years with proper cellaring.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Very dark and very extracted in jammy blackberry and cherry flavors, although dry. A big, flashy wine of great panache that may age, but now it’s a bit heavy and ponderous.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Here’s a nice, cool-climate, long hangtime wine. The warm days coaxed citrusy, figgy, melon-rich flavors, while the cool nights preserved fresh acidity. The winemaker kept wood off, and finished the wine just a tiny bit sweet, but it’s fundamentally dry. Very polished.
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