O'Shaughnessy Estate Winery Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

WA 95pts. - Winemaker Notes - The 2005 Howell Mountain has an opaque ruby red color with a garnet hue. Ripe cherry, blackberry, smoke, tobacco leaf, coco bean and dark chocolate aromas are framed by sweet vanilla oak. Elegant but concentrated flavors of espresso bean, graphite, raspberry and strawberry preserves are followed by a long complex finish with silky tannins and good acidity. An extracted wine that is rewarding upon release but will continue to improve with cellaring. According to the Wine Advocate: The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is a beauty, with dark ruby/purple color read more...and a big sweet nose of tobacco leaf intermixed with black currant, black cherry, new saddle leather, and white chocolate. The wine is full-bodied, powerful, with superb purity, texture, and length. It s approachable now but promises to be better in 3-4 years, and last for at least 15 or more.    (hide)

July 2009

95 pts from Robert Parker! - The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is a beauty, with dark ruby/purple color and a big sweet nose of tobacco leaf intermixed with black currant, black cherry, new saddle leather, and white chocolate. The wine is full-bodied, powerful, with superb purity, texture, and length. Its approachable now but promises to be better in 3-4 years, and last for at least 15 or more. - A I said last year, this relatively new producer is off to a flying start. Winemaker Sean Capiaux (who has his own Pinot Noir operation) seems to be doing some stunning work with this 35-acre vineyard, read more...planted with 29 acres of Cabernet and the rest other Bordeaux varietals. There is also a small cuvee (under 1,000 cases) of Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Veeder. Tasting through some barrel samples of 2006 showed this to be a very fine vintage, if not up to the level of 2005 and 2004, at least at this stage in their development. - Sean Capiaux, an extremely talented BullDog! - We fell in love with Sean Capiaux's style by way of his 2004 O'Shaunessy Howell Mt. Cabernet, a robust Cabernet with an incredible balance of fruit, to wood to acidity. This 94 pointer from Robert Parker however, is just the tip of iceberg for Sean Capiaux tremendous creations. After graduating from Fresno State in Enology and Chemistry, Sean Capiaux worked for Jordan, Pine Ridge, and Peter Michael in Calfornia. He established his own winery in 1994 and Capiaux Cellars is dedicated to making Burgundian Style Pinot Noir from some of California's best Pinot Vineyards. Sean works currently on Capiaux Cellars while he also works for O'Shaughnessy and his Cabernets from O'Shaughnessy have scored 91-96 pts consistantly for the last 6 vintages!    (hide)

February 2009

95 pts from Robert Parker! - The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is a beauty, with dark ruby/purple color and a big sweet nose of tobacco leaf intermixed with black currant, black cherry, new saddle leather, and white chocolate. The wine is full-bodied, powerful, with superb purity, texture, and length. ItÆs approachable now but promises to be better in 3-4 years, and last for at least 15 or more. - A I said last year, this relatively new producer is off to a flying start. Winemaker Sean Capiaux (who has his own Pinot Noir operation) seems to be doing some stunning work with this 35-acre vineyard, read more...planted with 29 acres of Cabernet and the rest other Bordeaux varietals. There is also a small cuvee (under 1,000 cases) of Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Veeder. Tasting through some barrel samples of 2006 showed this to be a very fine vintage, if not up to the level of 2005 and 2004, at least at this stage in their development. - Sean Capiaux, an extremely talented BullDog! - We fell in love with Sean Capiaux's style by way of his 2004 O'Shaunessy Howell Mt. Cabernet, a robust Cabernet with an incredible balance of fruit, to wood to acidity. This 94 pointer from Robert Parker however, is just the tip of iceberg for Sean Capiaux tremendous creations. After graduating from Fresno State in Enology and Chemistry, Sean Capiaux worked for Jordan, Pine Ridge, and Peter Michael in Calfornia. He established his own winery in 1994 and Capiaux Cellars is dedicated to making Burgundian Style Pinot Noir from some of California's best Pinot Vineyards. Sean works currently on Capiaux Cellars while he also works for O'Shaughnessy and his Cabernets from O'Shaughnessy have scored 91-96 pts consistantly for the last 6 vintages!    (hide)

August 2009

Spectacular cab with an unusual amount of sweet tar, and tobacco. A little hot, more time in the bottle will allow some more integration. But a complex wine with a great nose of blueberry liquor and long finish of blueberry creme. Best '05 cab I've had.

March 2009

No written review

January 2009