October 21, 2012 – Wine: 2004 Saint Clement Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

I admit that I have a weakness for Howell Mountain Cabernet.  In fact, it was the 2001 and 2002 vintages of this same wine that lured me to join the Saint Clement wine club.  This bottle was in my first shipment five years ago.  Tonight, I shared this bottle with visiting relatives, along with my autumn harvest pasta sauce.  The wine was amazing.  The nose immediately offered up a bouquet or raspberries, while the balanced palette offered black raspberries, black berries, blue berries, minerals, and subtle tobacco notes, all wrapped in sturdy tannins.  In fact, this is one of the few wines from this vintage that I have tasted in the last couple of years that has retained that magical fruit that most of the vintage’s wines had when first released.  Based on the tannins and structure still present in this wine, I would guess that it has another five to eight years of growth potential.  (Oh, and it went terrifically with the pasta sauce.)