2013 HALL Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is exquisite. It has an impenetrable blue/black color to the rim, a gorgeous nose of incense, charcoal, mulberry and blackberry liqueur, a multi-layered texture, and terrific purity and length. Keep in mind this is a 2013, so it has at least 25-30 years of upside and would probably benefit from 4-5 years of additional bottle age. This is sensational.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon (Howell Mountain) is one of the most distinctive wines in the range. Classic Howell Mountain signatures of graphite, smoke, crème de cassis, bittersweet chocolate, menthol and licorice infuse this intense, deep mountain Cabernet. The tannins could use another year or two to soften, but, here, too, the winemaking team has done a terrific job in softening the edges, given the personality of site and vintage.
A huge, massively endowed wine, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is incredibly raw and unformed today. The purity of the fruit, though, is striking. Graphite, pencil shavings and crushed rocks are laced into the inky, extracted finish. The Howell Mountain Cabernet emerges from three sources. Like all the Hall Cabernets, the Howell is powerful and massively extracted, but these hillsides might be able to handle that approach. We will see when the wine is bottled.