Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
2010 O’Shaughnessy Estate Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
2010 O’Shaughnessy 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is from the west side of the Napa Valley, Mount Veeder. On the eyes, a dark ruby coloring with medium heavy viscosity. On the nose, a woody but sweet briar, with blackberry and black cherry fruits wafting into the nose. On the palate, extremely concentrated fruits, licorice and black cherry exploded in the mouth with a background of sweet tobacco smoke and leather. Additionally, secondary flavors of dark chocolate were noticed. The finish had some strong tannins, but without any “edginess” which provided for a long velvety crescendo.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
2010 was a colder season and the wines of this vintage are to be sought after. Rated at 97 points by RP. This wine could easily go another 3-5 years, yet more than pleased to be enjoyed now after waiting for a while!
This wine will make my annual list of Best Wines Tasted for 2026. O’Shaughnessy Winery has made this list for 15+ years annually for their exquisite wines.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Paired this evening with a seasoned ribeye steak and seared at 1500 degrees and served medium rare. Accompanied by roasted gnocchi, sauteed baby asparagus and a fresh garden salad with cooked bacon. An enjoyable and complete meal to be enjoyed with this fine wine. Nothing less than perfect food and wine pairing.
The Winery
The winery is located on Howell Mountain; however, they do source some fruit from their other estate located on Mount Veeder. So, they offer both Mt Veeder and Howell Mountain vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon. Additionally, they produce a Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.
For more information on the winery read one of the previously written stories at:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2015/12/23/oshaughnessy-estate-wines/
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
2012 Outpost Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Winery
The Outpost Wines under years of leadership of Frank & Kathy Dotzler was sold July 23, 2018. Located at 2200–foot elevation in Angwin on Howell Mountain (east side of Napa Valley). The buyer being AXA Millésimes, the wine division of the large French insurance company. They own wineries in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Portugal and Hungary. Those wineries include Château Pichon-Longueville Baron in Bordeaux, Domaine de l’Arlot in Burgundy, Quinta do Noval in Portugal’s Douro Valley and Disznókő in Hungary.
Previously I visited the winery yearly picking up allocations of wine, but have not visited since the buyout.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled Poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged 20 months in 80% new French oak barrels. Double decanted and filtered before serving. The wine on the eyes is a deep brick red with a medium heavy viscosity. Blueberry, lush blackberries, pepper and fresh violets on the nose. On the palate, it burst forth with vanilla pipe tobacco, licorice and both blueberry and blackberry flavors. The tannins are present but caressingly soft and Howell Mountain minerality lingers on the finish. The 2012 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon on Wine Searcher retails today for $262/bottle and was rated 93 points. K & L lists it for $170/bottle and shows Robert Parker giving it 96 points.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This was a last-minute dinner and wine pairing. Picked up all meat frozen raviolis and a spicy marinara sauce. Accompanied by fresh sourdough French bread and a Cesar’s salad. Still an excellent choice with the Cabernet Sauvignon enveloping the meat ravioli and softening the spicy sauce. No doubt we overshot the pairing with the wine but it was all good!
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly