Sometimes you save a wine and every time you look through your stash you get excited about the night that you're finally going to pop the cork and savor the deliciousness. Since I'm not a collector, I have a few precious bottles and for me, the site of the label of a "saved" wine brings a smile as I think about when I'm going to crack that baby open.Recently, M.C. Ice and I had a good string of days so we decided to stop lusting after the bottle and on a regular Wednesday night, we opened the 2004 La Jota Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Anniversary Release.
A friend had sported us the bottle and I had high expectations, given that I'd heard good things about La Jota (means "J" in Spanish and is pronounced La HO-ta). Although owned by mega-giant-wine-monster Kendall-Jackson, the production isn't that big -- thousands of cases versus 2 million for KJ Chard. I've had a few Cabs from Napa's Howell Mountain, where the vineyards are located, so I was feeling very confident that this wine was going to be a winner.
If I may dork out for a second before I get to the wine, I'll tell you a little about Howell Mountain, which is located on the east side of Napa in the Vaca Mountains.
I think the first important thing to know is that as in the case of many places, there is a huge difference between the style of wine produced from mountain fruit versus valley floor fruit. Here's a video from me explaining more, if you're interested.
This isn't new news in the winemaking world and the different kind of flavors you get from mountain vineyards didn't escape the French winemaking duo, Jean Adolph Brun and Jean V. Chaix, who planted acres of Bordeaux varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Carmenere) on Howell Mountain in the late 1800s. Their foresight was rewarded with international recognition for their wines. They built the stone winery that would become Ladera (see this post for more details on that gorgeous property) and others followed suit, including W.S Keyes who built the stone winery in which La Jota is now housed.
There are a bunch of mountains in the Vacas (it's a mountain chain, after all). So what makes Howell Mountain different and special? Well, for starters it's tall. 1,400 feet tall to be exact. This means that when fog blankets Napa in the morning, it doesn't touch the vineyards atop Howell Mountain. That allows the grapes to get consistent sun. The altitude also means that the days are cooler and the evenings a little warmer than in the valley. With fewer dramatic swings in temperature, the grapes build acid and sugar slowly. The wines tend to have a good balance of alcohol, acid, and mouth-drying tannins, and they aren't fruit bombs.
Can it get any better for this place? Oh yes! Behold, the perfect storm (and I mean that proverbially since their weather isn't that dramatic!): it has volcanic and clay soils, which are poor in the nutrients grapes need to thrive. Sounds bad, but actually that stress on the vines results in fewer, more flavorful grapes that, in turn, make more flavorful wines (fewer grapes mean each gets more of the nutrients that are available). All in all, Howell Mountain has a winning combination. Nature is pretty generous, so the winemaker shouldn't have to do too much to make these sing...
The Wine: 2004 La Jota, Cabernet Sauvignon, 23rd Anniversary Release
Alcohol Content: 14.5%
The Grapes: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
The Price: $95
Color: Inky nearly purple in the center. Lots of sediment -- we had to filter it to drink it. Very dark with a pink rim.
Nose: Cinnamon, plum, blackberry, plum pie. The cinnamon and nutmeg aromas made the wine smell like a baked berry cobbler. A second sniff and I got the earthy, green pepper, tobacco, and smoke smells I'd expect from a Cab.
Taste: The wine didn't have much fruit to it. I got a lot of earthiness and woodiness from what appeared to be heavily toasted oak barrels that imparted lots of flavor. The wine was definitely earthy it tasted like salty soil and green pepper.
From the oak there was a cedar flavor and a singed character that was a little like a hamburger or like eating something charred, and a whole bunch of vanilla and burnt sugar flavors. As expected, the wine had a great texture: Good acid, and higher alcohol but well balanced and the tannins were powerful and chewy. The wine had a long, long finish.
Drink or Sink?: Drink because it's a perfectly fine wine...BUT I gotta say, the wine was far better after being open for two days, but I was disappointed. Given the story of Howell Mountain and what I've tasted in the past, I expected the wine to be more unique. Apart from excellent tannins, the wine left me wanting more. It didn't have much character -- nothing to make it memorable. For the price, I'd buy something that stood out more in my memory.
Do you think the wine maker knows that this wind doesn't have much character & isn't very unique? Or is that how they designed it and like it? No dought people have differing tastes.
ReplyDeleteHi Robert,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment!
To your point, everyone has a different opinion on wine -- no two people have the exact same DNA or taste bud placement/olfactory sensitivity! I'm sure the winemaker thought this wine was great when he released it. Other people who have had the wine probably also have thought it was great. I just thought it was good.
When I write my reviews of wines, I generally write about the region (which is mostly objective, but with some opinions infused) and then the wine, which is based wholly on whether or not, in my opinion (using measures and evaluation techniques I think most people can relate to) the wine is well-made.
For most of the readers of this blog, $95 is a lot to spend on a wine, so I want to make sure I let them know that I was disappointed in the wine and why. That way, if they are choosing between multiple options (and they generally agree with the stuff I say about other wines I recommend or don't recommend) they can pick something that is more likely to make them happy.
I'm not out to get anyone or make the winemaker look bad, I just like being honest about what I think. Take it or leave it, I guess!
Thanks for writing and reading!
Take care and I hope to hear from you again!
Elizabeth
Listen to your podcast all the time, great stuff!
ReplyDeletePerhaps it wasn't it's time. I had the luck of tasting a 1996, 2000, and 2002 last night and each was great. I prefered the 2002 (because I have a taste for younger more fresh fruit notes) but it was really cool to see where the wine might go. I believe they also changed winemakers since the 2003 vintage, so that might have something to do with it.
Thanks again.