Howell Mountain Retrospective

With Bob Craig at 2009  Harvest Party

Our very good friends Rick and Linda provided the venue for Beth's birthday celebration. Dinner was festive and highlighted by a caprese salad, strip steaks from the family farm and a delicious chocolate cake. The  menu provided the opportunity to reprise our 2009 trip to Napa which focused in part on the Howell Mountain AVA and was highlighted by Robert Craig's Harvest Party at the Howell Mountain winery. Special thanks to Linda for an outstanding celebration and to Dr. Dan for the complementary wines before and after dinner.

The Howell Mountain flight consisted of a 2000 vintage O'Shaughnessy, 2001 La Jota, 2004 Clark- Claudon and 2007 Blue Hall Vineyard Camiana.

The Clark-Claudon Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=229261 was clearly the most distinctive of the flight and representative of the outstanding 2004 vintage. Deep indigo purple in the glass, big mouth feel and a long finish. Lots of fruit, some mocha and a touch of oak on the palate. Clark-Claudon produces a classic, well balanced Cabernet with just the right amount of oak.

The 2007 Blue Hall Mountain Camiana http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1268057 showed incredible promise and may have been the surprise of the evening. Blue Hall Vineyard is located 1700 feet above Napa Valley and consists of only 3 acres divided by a stream. The vineyards were planted in 2001 and Ted Olsen is  current winemaker. The first released vintage seems to be 2004 and this wine though limited in production, has received some outstanding reviews. The 2007 is a deep indigo color in the glass. There are lilac and lavender notes on the nose. The wine is tight with tannins outweighing the fruit but dark raspberry and cherry fruit is apparent in abundance. Can't wait to see how this evolves. This was so well received that we ended placing orders for multiple verticals while still at the dinner table.

2001 La Jota Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=14319. La Jota is always a solid wine representative of its region and the 2001 was no exception. This bottle was medium bodied with well integrated tannins. The nose was a bit earthy and mossy. The wine opened on the palate to reveal ample raspberry, plum and cassis. This wine will no doubt last a few more years but is drinking so well now, why wait?

2000 O'Shaugnessy Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=15897. We have become spoiled by the surfeit of outstanding vintages in Napa Valley. Accordingly a normally exceptional vineyard such as O'Shaughnessy pales against counterparts from exceptional vintages such as 2004 and 2007. The 2000 O'Shaughnessy evidenced plenty of fruit but was lacking in complexity, depth and structure compared to the rest of the flight. By itself this would likely show better.

Birth Year Bordeaux for a Gala Christmas Eve Dinner

All the children returned home for Christmas this year, affording us the opportunity for a very special Christmas Eve dinner. The venue was Sullivan's downtown Chicago location. The fare consisted of a variety of different takes on filet mignon (a specialty) accompanied by baked potato, macaroni and cheese and broccoli. This was just the right setting for a cross section of Bordeaux representing each of the childrens birth years. The three bottles were BYOB from my cellar and included a 1982 Ch. Brane-Cantenac http://www.cellartracker.com/w?22706, a 1984 Ch. Montrose  http://www.cellartracker.com/w?395777 and a 1989 Ch. Haut-Batailley http://www.cellartracker.com/w?9429. 


All three wines were outstanding. All were filtered and decanted for approximately 30 minutes, giving credence to the philosophy that lengthy decanting benefits young wines more than old. 
The '82 Brane-Cantenac was representative of its Margaux terroir with lilac and floral notes on the nose, dark berry and cassis on the palate. Plenty of fruit still left in this exceptional vintage. 
The '89 Haut-Batailley was next and evidenced a bit more contrast than expected from a Pauillac. The nose was a bit musty at first, reminiscent of forest floor and leather. There was some fruit on the palate but herb and spice flavors were dominant. An interesting and tasty wine but not terribly complex. 
The surprise of the evening was the '84 Montrose which we "popped and poured" for fear  the wine would be quick to close down. While the fruit and tannins were subdued, this was very drinkable and typical of a St. Estephe with notes of chocolate, mocha and tobacco. The lesson learned from this is that even in an off year, the better producers will still make an attractive offering.


The food was up to Sullivan's high standards. The food service was exceptional. attentive and knowledgeable. Given the $25 per bottle corkage, the wine service could have been better. The sommelier insisted on using a traditional corkscrew with a worm despite the age of the corks and my offer of a two pronged cork puller. The result was a broken cork on each bottle and the need to strain while decanting.


Overall, an exceptional evening of food, family, wine and fellowship to kick off the Christmas holiday.