2018 ARKENSTONE ESTATE HOWELL MOUNTAIN
"The 2018 Howell Mountain Estate Red Blend is composed of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Merlot and 2% Malbec. It was aged for 22 months in French oak barrels, 100% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it sashays out of the glass with gregarious scents of red and black cherries, cassis and ripe plums plus nuances of lilacs, pencil lead, tree bark and black olives. Full-bodied, it has a solid structure of ripe, fine-grained tannins with great freshness lifting the dense fruit to a long, wonderfully pure finish. 700 cases were made." Lisa Perrotti-Brown Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 98 points Drink 2023-53