2019 O’Shaughnessy Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
Nestled on a 120-acre hillside, the estate vineyard has matured over 20 years. With 29 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and 6 acres of historic blending varietals, the vines thrive in three distinct vineyards: the Amphitheater, Rancho Del Oso, and Osprey's Nest. The 2019 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is a stunning example, boasting flawless balance, elegance, and textbook Howell Mountain characteristics of blue fruit, cassis, violets, and graphite, with a remarkable purity of fruit and a great finish.
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.
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.
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.
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. Best from 2025.
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.