Country: US / The Knoll Vineyard
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon California
Winery: Howell at the Moon / Howell Mountain
Made in the richly extracted, super-oaky and sweetly soft style of modern Napa Cabs, this wine trades structure for sheer deliciousness. The flavors are wildly extravagant: blackberries, blueberries, cherries, pie crust, cola, exotic spices, smoke, graphite. But what the wine really needs is greater architecture and more definitive dryness. Drink now–2012.