Duckhorn Howell Mountain Red Wine 2004
Bordeaux Red Blends
from Napa Valley, California
winemaker's notes:
We have been sourcing fruit from the exceptional terrain of Howell Mountain for more than a quarter century and were proud to unveil our first Howell Mountain Napa Valley Red Wine in 1989. From 1993 through 2003, this wine was bottled as a varietal, the Howell Mountain Napa Valley Merlot. As such, it was made using a minimum of 75 percent Merlot.
Beginning with the 2004 vintage, we are pleased to return to our roots and will once again be releasing this sought-after bottling as our Howell Mountain Napa Valley Red Wine. What's in a name? A lot. This new name will give us enhanced freedom to create the best blend possible each vintage (without worrying about percentages) from the four Bordeaux varietals grown on our Stout and Candlestick Ridge estate vineyards. We believe this approach offers us greater latitude to capture the flavorful diversity of this one-of-a-kind winegrowing region.
This Napa Valley Red Wine reflects the power and intensity of its rugged, high elevation terroir, displaying excellent structure, strong tannins and a complex undercurrent of earthy minerality. Featuring extracted aromas of dark chocolate, mulled fruit and spice, this robust wine also offers savory hints of porcini and soy. On the palate, mouth-filling flavors of blackberry, black currant, mocha and menthol are accentuated by hints of lavender, graphite, herbs and sweet oak.
critical acclaim:
"Almost entirely Merlot, with a few drops of other Bordeaux varieties, this Howell Mountain red screams for time in the cellar. The tannins bite and dog the mouth through the long, astringent finish. But chew on it for a while and you hit a deep core of blackberries and currants, and the more the wine warms up in the glass, the more impressive it gets. Cellar until 2010, and it should reward for years after."
95 Points
Wine Enthusiast
