Keith Lite

9.5

A big bold plumy purple bomb As dense and luscious as a wine can get in a glass. Decanted for 2 hrs and its still a baby with blackberry, dark chocolate licorice and pepper on the nose and on the palate. A long long finish and loads of tannins to sum it all up — 7 years ago

with Bruce

Sarah Adelman

9.3

Black berry, Marion berry, black cherry on palate.
As it evolves, layers of mocha, cinnamon and clove reveal themselves, as well as hints of sarsaparilla and black licorice — 8 years ago

Mathew Iestyn Parry

8.9

2015 vintage on 12 Jan 2018. Not as remarkable as the 92 points label would have you believe, but still deliciously drinkable. Could not taste the promised “hints of almond and walnuts.” Am imbecile. — 8 years ago

Jon Ruyle

9.5

Blueberries on the beautiful nose, the distinctive Howell Mountain fruit gives way to briar, minerals, and graphite over an hour in the decanter. Hard not to love this! — 9 years ago

with Eugene

Wulf Losee

9.1

2011 opened Jan 2017. Smoooooooooth! Soft mouth feel. Lots of spicy high notes in the bouquet. Ripe fruit, cherries on the front palette. Soft buttery tannins all the way down after that. — 9 years ago

Craig Stanfield

9.0

Unabashedly Californian. But has a lot going on. — 10 years ago

Edmond Bordelon

9.6

Howell Mountain heaven! We are going to be up there at the end of October for Halloween on Howell (Howl) Mountain! With wines like this, it will be an amazing time! Thank you Sam Kaplan and Susan Krausz. — 10 years ago

with Katherine

Richard Lewis

9.5

Black currants and licorice, eucalyptus on the nose. Wonderful. — 10 years ago

with Lynne

Rachel Portell

9.5

Finally got my hands on the 2011 vintage! Intriguing nose with dark fruits, eucalyptus and a hint of pipe smoke. Great palate that retains good acidity and has a long finish. 2011 mountain fruit is drinking well! — 11 years ago

Ali Shirazinia

10

UNREAL! Something I picked up a few years ago on our trip to Napa. — 11 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.2

Medium golden yellow. Lush nose with brioche, warm green apples, lemon curd, little straw and honeysuckle. Medium acidity (6/10) and medium to medium plus bodied. A little stoney on the palate with citrus rind and touch of yeast. Long and lingering finish. Drink till 2025. — 7 years ago

with India

Keith Lite

9.2

In a past life i think i lived on Howell Mountain. The wines from this region are just so spectacular. On the nose cherry, chocolate, coffee and that Howell earth that I’ve not found anywhere else. Leather damp earth and a thick and chewy finish. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

On the nose; huckleberry, olallieberries, plums, blueberries, baking spices and fresh violets in dark floral bouquet. The body and tannins are M+ Huckleberry, ollieberries, plums, blueberries, black raspberries, raspberries, baking spices, spice, cedar, leather, pipe tobacco, crushed dry rocks, powdery volcanic minerals, good round acidity and nicely polished finish. Nice wine with potential for more as it bottle ages. — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

This Sauvignon Blanc spends a year in some new oak but mostly used oak and a 1/3 of it in concrete eggs. They also hold it back in bottle for another 1-1 1/2 years before they release it. On nose, great tropicals; melons, passionfruit, pineapple, banana peel, green apple, underripe Bosc pear with skin, citrus, citrus blossoms, jasmine and yellow florals. The mouthfeel is creamy & oily. It's very clean, pure, has precision and high mellow acidity. Green apple, green melon, citrus candy, peach, white peach, pineapple, guava, passion fruit, subtle light spice, delicate refined soft chalkiness with amazing body, texture and finish. Photos of their owner Ron leading the tasting. The concrete eggs used to ferment this Sauvignon Blanc. Their metal frog band adorning their grounds and those beautiful Howell Mountain vines sprung back to life. — 9 years ago

Matthew Davison

9.2

Dark and spicy on the nose. Dark fruit and spice on the palette. Super tasty!!! — 10 years ago

Ron R

9.3

Tonight, we pay homage to @Diana L and @Joe Lucca for treating us like royalty over the weekend - thank you so much.

So, it's Joe's birthday soon, and we purchased this bottle for him. But my goldfish-like brain had forgotten he already had some, so we decided to dive into it and give him some Yellow Tail instead!

In the glass, the wine appears as dark as the night. On the nose, I get maple syrup, kirsch, cinnamon and loamy earth. The palette reveals soft wood notes, intertwined with syrop de cassis and red licorice. Tannins are relatively soft and plush. The endnote is sweet and velvety. This is a great wine, but lacks something that I can't quite describe; sorry. — 10 years ago

with Anne-marie

Michael Schamis

8.9

Deep, brooding aromas of black fruits and forest floor. Surprisingly light on the palate. Juicy flavors of plum and blueberry with only a hint of earth and herbs. Soft, round tannins lead the easy, medium finish. — 11 years ago

Dan Thomas

9.2

Tannins a little gritty on day one. Second day it polished out and was silky smooth — 11 years ago

James Dugan

9.3

Very spicy mountain cuvée with medium body and very little lingering flavor on the back end. Very drinkable, solid wine. — 12 years ago

Mike Bloink

10

A delicious Cabernet off of Spring Mountain. Dense cherry and sweet vanilla are framed in French Oak with a supple lingering finish. You won't find this on at Binney's. — 14 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Opened tonight. And, I feel like a broken record saying that here is ANOTHER great 2011 considering the "damned vintage" that this one received press for being. I have 43 more 2011 Napa wines and I have a feeling that I'm going to be writing the same thing another 43 times. Not powerful, but these wines truly show the complexity that Napa cab CAN be. Nose of iodine, black licorice. Very front of this wine is sweeter black cherry giving way to an herbal infused middle (getting more dried basil with a hint of oregano and cumin). The red clay terroir is unmistakably present here through the middle and finish, which is usually more present for Ponente only at the very finish. The wine finishes with black cherry and black licorice dominated notes. I have a feeling that this wine is still on the way up. Has a few more years until it is at the top of the hill, but drinking OH SO WELL right now. — 7 years ago

Ben Madonna

9.5

Super rich and smooth. Still great fruit for a wine this old. Dark purple color and lingers on the palate. — 8 years ago

Michael Mathews

9.3

Absolute chocolate. This is one of the finest noses on a wine. The dark berries and chocolate are seductive and alluring. The mouth feel of this wine is huge. Long finish, amazing complexity and texture. You taste the sun and soil of warm Napa days that the hillsides are filled with..... — 9 years ago

with Brad, Mike and 2 others

Ron R

9.3

First vintage. Always a favorite ours, especially on special occasions. Drinking well now, and won't improve from where it is today.
Happy holidays to one and all! 🎅🏾 — 9 years ago

with Anne-marie

Sarah Milsow-Guenther

9.4

Wow. This does not taste like an 04, lots of dark fruit still left on this one. A little tartness to it almost. Could still age this one for a bit. Decanted this for about 6 hours. — 10 years ago

Eric

9.4

Lead on the nose and palate. Delicate as a MF. Clean finish. Stunning! — 10 years ago

with S.R.Alexander

Emily Kresie-Harrington

9.1

BIG wine. Black currant, baked blackberry, black fig, kirsch, cedar, sandalwood, coffee, big on structure and acid. Wish that all back labels were so informative! — 11 years ago

Noble Cloche

9.5

Spectacular. Perfect example of Howell Mountain CS. Velvety smooth on the palate with an exquisite finish. Brilliantly integrated oak perfectly compliments the fruit. If you see this on market for a good price, snap it up! — 11 years ago

Anita Krutel Colburn

9.6

We bought this at Pride on our anniversary trip in 2011. Soooooo gooood! — 13 years ago