2021 O'Shaughnessy Estate Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon California USA

Winemaker Notes
This is a classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with an opaque purple color and perfumed aromas of blackberry compote, orange blossom, cassis, creme brulee, and cocoa. On the palate the wine is plush and concentrated with well-integrated tannins and a vibrant finish. Lush enough to be consumed now and structured enough to hold for decades thanks to the mountain heritage of this beautiful wine.

Press from previous vintage
Rated 98 Points Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is an incredible wine, and it flirts with perfection. Full-bodied and concentrated, it has flawless balance and elegance as well as just textbook Howell Mountain notes of blue fruits, cassis, violets, graphite, and background oak. I love its tannins, it has remarkable purity of fruit, and a great, great finish. It has some appeal today yet deserves 4-5 years of bottle age and should have over two decades of longevity.
Rating: 98+

Rated 97 Points Decanter
Winemaker Sean Capiaux has crafted this Howell Mountain staple for more than two decades. In 2019, he's made a knockout! Explosive aromas of ripe, black fruit, wild mountain sage, turned earth and toasty oak. Enveloping on the palate with an intricate mix of black cherry, blackberry and blueberry fruit moving quickly into more savoury notes of crushed stones, cassis, wildflowers. Finishing long and with vibrancy and lift. A powerful core of firm fine-grained tannins are nicely integrated. Great cellar potential.

Rated 94 Points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sourced from a single vineyard, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 4% Malbec, 1.5 % Petit Verdot, 1.5 % Saint-Macaire (an obscure grape from southwestern France), 1% Carménère and 1% Cabernet Franc. The nose is all blueberries and bay leaves at first, later developing hints of cassis and sage, all nestled in soft notes of cedar and vanilla, while the full-bodied palate is nicely concentrated and softly tannic, with enough grip to suggest more than a decade of aging potential.

Rated 94 Points James Suckling
Notes of dark spices, cocoa and bark with ripe blackberries and plums on offer. Full-bodied with ripe, succulent dark and blue fruit coated with velvety tannins. Plush and lingering with a spicy finish and some earthiness to it. Better from 2025.

Rated 94 Points Vinous
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain offers lovely brightness and energy, all in a mid-weight style that is both appealing and surprisingly approachable for a young Howell Mountain wine. Sweet dark cherry, plum, mocha, spice, tobacco and lavender are all beautifully lifted in the glass. This is an especially gracious, polished Cabernet from Howell Mountain. The 2019 has so much to offer. Best of all, it should drink well with minimal cellaring.