Outpost Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain comes mostly from the estate vineyard (there’s a small part from the True vineyard) and it appears to be a classic Howell Mountain Cabernet. Blue fruits, ample minerality, and some violet and mountain scrub brush notes all flow to a medium to full-bodied, layered 2017 that has fine tannins and a terrific sense of elegance.
Range: 95-97 -
James Suckling
A dense, layered red with a solid core of fruit and tannins. Blue fruit. Cedar and mushroom undertones. A full and compact wine. Needs time to soften. One of the best of the vintage. Better after 2022.
Other Vintages
2019-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
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Robert
Parker
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon is the star of this part of Napa’s rugged, eastern hills, but Zinfandel was responsible for giving the Howell Mountain growing area its original fame in the late 1800s.
Winemaking in Howell Mountain was abandoned during Prohibition, and wasn’t reawakened until the arrival of Randy Dunn, a talented winemaker famous for the success of Caymus in the 1970s and 1980s. In the early eighties, he set his sights on the Napa hills and subsequently astonished the wine world with a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Shortly thereafter Howell Mountain became officially recognized as the first sub-region of Napa Valley (1983).
With vineyards at 1,400 to 2,000 feet in elevation, they predominantly sit above the fog line but the days in Howell Mountain remain cooler than those in the heart of the valley, giving the grapes a bit more time on the vine.
The Howell Mountain AVA includes 1,000 acres of vineyards interspersed by forestlands in the Vaca Mountains. The soils, shallow and infertile with good drainage, are volcanic ash and red clay and produce highly concentrated berries with thick skins. The resulting wines are full of structure and potential to age.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah thrive in this sub-appellation, as well as its founding variety, Zinfandel.