White Cottage Ranch Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain

By Dennis Johns from St Clement. M+ garnet colorX Still loads of black fruit in the nose. Sweet fruit aromas. Fresh fruit, surprising for a 19yr old. Spice and black fruit, kinda one (two) note, but still holding up really well. Med minus chewy tannin. Grassiness on the palate.

Wasn't really impressed with this wine. The cork pulled with a slightly dark stain. The nose out of the bottle was a bit overtoasted oak and overripe fruits. The pour from the bottle was nice and dark. As the wine sat and decanted for 15 minutes, the darker tones of this wine started to come through - plum, fig, with some earth, but taste was very sharp on the finish. Let the wine sit another 1hr and tasted again. Wine …

Started out very tart. Waited 1 hour and it got a little better. After being open for 2 hours it really opened up and started drinking nicely.

Good but past prime

Very nice--a mellow cab, light for White Cottage. Opened up with time--very enjoyable. Wish I had more. Whoops.

Improved measurably with open bottle time. My initial read led me towards a very basic, traditional Cab- but the Howell Mountain aspects began to come out with time and this gained some superb bouquet and complexity. Glad I have another- my sense is this will drink well for at least a few more years.

NONDISCRIPT

Deep garnet color leads to a nose of currant, asian spice and black cherry laced with a hint of alcohol. The palate explodes with notes of black cherry, dark plum, currant, asian spice and a hint of tobacco. The finish is a smooth 20 seconds. A very enjoyable wine to drink now. I can't wait to taste it with five years of bottle age.