Storybook Mountain Zinfandel Howell Mountain

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：1931

This is a surprisingly soft, charming, seductive, Burgundian-styled wine with good lushness, and copious quantities of sweet black cherry fruit intermixed with smoke, minerals, and spice. Drink this friendly, seductive Zinfandel over the next 3-4 years.Storybook Mountain Vineyard has been one of the consistent practitioners of the elegant, ageworthy style of Zinfandel. Recently, the wines have taken on more accessibility without compromising their ability to age; the top cuvees can easily last ten or more years.Tel. (707) 942-5310

The 1995s are made in a restrained, but classic style. The tightest, most backward and austere wine, the 1995 Howell Mountain Zinfandel, exhibits a dark ruby color, and reticent aromatics. With coaxing, the wine offers up powdered minerals and vibrant berry fruit. It possesses medium body, a restrained, subtle style, and excellent purity, but it tastes low-key and tannic. While it will improve, the question must be posed - is there sufficient fruit to outlast the wine's structure? Give it 1-2 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 4-6. Readers who have followed the evolution of the Storybook Mountain Zinfandels must realize that these wines, which emanate from steep hillside vineyards north of Calistoga, are among the longest-lived Zinfandels produced. In fact, some vintages of the Estate Reserves give every indication of evolving and improving for 10-15 years, a distinct rarity among Zinfandels.Tel. (707) 942-5310

The 1993 Zinfandel Howell Mountain displays Seps' move toward a more velvety-textured, less forbiddingly austere and tannic wine. The Howell Mountain offers a deep ruby/purple color and an unevolved but promising nose of minerals and black fruits. There is moderate tannin, full body, outstanding fruit extraction, good purity and richness, and a structured, firm underpinning to the wine's personality. Cellar this wine for 1-2 years and drink it over the following 10-12. As anyone who has followed Storybook Mountain's wines over the last decade knows, they are among the longest-lived Zinfandels made in California. Storybook Mountain's style has always aimed for long-lived Zinfandels that in some vintages begin life too austerely, a deficiency that proprietor Jerry Seps has been rectifying by producing a more user-friendly, softer Zinfandel without sacrificing the 10-15 years of aging potential his top cuvees possess.Tel. (707) 942-5310

The 1992 Zinfandel Howell Mountain is the most ferociously tannic and backward of the Storybook Mountain Zinfandels. It reveals a stony/mineral component to its spicy, ripe, blackcurrant fruitiness. While the wine is medium to full-bodied, admirably concentrated, and brilliantly well-focused, it needs 4-5 years of cellaring; it will keep for 15-20 years. Storybook Mountain produces what many observers believe to be California's longest-lived Zinfandels. Even their Estate cuvee can last for 15+ years, with the Reserve a potential candidate for a quarter of a century of longevity. Proprietor Jerry Seps believes in making long-lived, serious Zinfandels that possess enough suppleness to be appreciated young. These impressive Zinfandels behave brilliantly in the bottle! Tel. (707) 942-5310

Proprietor Jerry Seps has a vineyard dedicated completely to Zinfandel in the northern section of Napa Valley, not far from Calistoga. A strong argument can be made that his Zinfandel is potentially the longest-lived wine from this varietal. Storybook Mountain Vineyard Zinfandels, particularly their Reserves, appear to need at least 5-6 years of cellaring, and really do not begin to blossom until they are nearly a decade old. With that fact in mind, consumers should consider buying their regular 1990 Napa bottling for drinking within its first decade of life. Their Reserves (of which there will ultimately be a 1990) should be cellared for at least 5 years, perhaps longer in top vintages such as 1990. The character of Storybook Mountain Zinfandels is one that offers considerable structure, somewhat higher acidity than other Napa Zinfandels, and a deep, rich, profound, spicy, raspberry fruitiness intermingled with the scent of minerals and pepper. In 1991 there is a new Zinfandel in this winery's portfolio. Made from a vineyard on Howell Mountain, it is an ageworthy, tannic, backward, spicy Zinfandel that is completely closed yet loaded with potential. It needs at least 4-5 years in the cellar and should last for 12-15. Big, brawny, and concentrated, patience is most definitely required.