La Jota Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
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Wine & Spirits
Mariano Navarro farms this 28-acre vineyard for the Jackson family, the wine made by Chris Carpenter in one of Napa Valley’s old stone wineries (dating to 1898, built for the original vineyard). At elevations reaching 1,830 feet, with white rhyolite and red volcanic soils, the estate produces monumental reds like this bold 2012, its bloody, meaty, mineral-driven fruit lasting like a blast of crushed stone. The black fruit is juicy in the middle, hinting at red notes of pomegranate and persimmon, then tannins take over in the end, needing a thick-cut steak or years in bottle to relent.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and full-blown, with a deep core of zesty blackberry and wild berry, appropriately framed by dusty earth and cedary tannins. The finish is pleasantly rocky and rustic. Drink now through 2028.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot and Merlot aged in 89% new French oak. La Jota’s largest cuvée (3,850 cases), it boasts a dense purple color as well as copious notes of licorice, crème de cassis, road tar, charcoal and mulberries. With exceptional fruit intensity, full-bodied opulence, decent acidity and sweet, lush, well-integrated tannin, it should drink well for 10-15+ years.
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James Suckling
A soft and savory red with plum, raisin and spice aromas and flavors. Full body, velvety tannins and a fruity finish. Drink or hold.
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The wines of La Jota have deep roots in Napa Valley. Back in 1888, winemaking pioneer W.S. Keyes planted some of the first vines on Howell Mountain, and 10 years later his contemporary, Fredrick Hess, built a stone winery and established La Jota Vineyard Co., named for its location on the Mexican parcel Rancho La Jota. Both men won medals for their Howell Mountain wines in the Paris Exposition of 1900.
Today, La Jota Vineyard Co. proudly carries on this great legacy with its small-production mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay. All La Jota wines are sourced from the winery’s estate and from nearby W.S. Keyes Vineyard, and they capture the intense fruit and mineral complexity of these cool-climate origins.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon is the star of this part of Napa’s rugged, eastern hills, but Zinfandel was responsible for giving the Howell Mountain growing area its original fame in the late 1800s.
Winemaking in Howell Mountain was abandoned during Prohibition, and wasn’t reawakened until the arrival of Randy Dunn, a talented winemaker famous for the success of Caymus in the 1970s and 1980s. In the early eighties, he set his sights on the Napa hills and subsequently astonished the wine world with a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Shortly thereafter Howell Mountain became officially recognized as the first sub-region of Napa Valley (1983).
With vineyards at 1,400 to 2,000 feet in elevation, they predominantly sit above the fog line but the days in Howell Mountain remain cooler than those in the heart of the valley, giving the grapes a bit more time on the vine.
The Howell Mountain AVA includes 1,000 acres of vineyards interspersed by forestlands in the Vaca Mountains. The soils, shallow and infertile with good drainage, are volcanic ash and red clay and produce highly concentrated berries with thick skins. The resulting wines are full of structure and potential to age.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah thrive in this sub-appellation, as well as its founding variety, Zinfandel.