This is a classic, quintessential Howell Mountain Cab that is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Petit Verdot, all of which is mountain fruit.  And that mountain character shines through in a wine that I really enjoyed.  At $42 at Costco, for a Howell mountain wine of this caliber, it is still a very good buy (this bottle is $54 on wine.com), and a wine I’d like to have in the cellar to revisit in a few years.

Nose of mint and clove, a little NyQuil aroma; in the mouth, wonderful dark fruit, blueberry, dark chocolate notes, some spicebox with smooth tannins and a little mineral component.  Finishes dry, earthy, chalky.  This is a very expressive mountain wine, that fans of higher elevation fruit will really enjoy.  It’s not the gigantic fruit bomb that many of the other valley floor wines seem to be right now in 2012 vintages (a great vintage, but one that needs a little more time to calm down in my opinion).

So, not an inexpensive wine here, but this one is worth spending a few more dollars for.  Also a wine that I will add to our Top Picks list.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 92 Points

Costco item number: 890518

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA

Alc. 14.5%