Outpost Zinfandel Howell Mountain 2012 750ml

Outpost sits high on Howell Mountain, where volcanic soils and elevation above the Napa Valley fog line produce intensely flavored mountain fruit. Its 2012 Zinfandel is 100% Zinfandel, aged 16 months in French oak, about one-third new, with roughly 1,000 cases made. The generous 2012 vintage gave a dense, inky wine loaded with raspberry and black cherry fruit, peppery and meaty notes, dark chocolate, licorice and brushy herbs. Vinous described it as "rich and bombastic to the core," and its firm mountain tannins give it more structure than most Zinfandels. Now more than a decade on, it is drinking at its peak and best enjoyed over the next few years.