My last bottle. Color is still quite a deep ruby with little bricking even after 16 years; nose wafted out of the bottle while decanting, blackberry, black fruits, but a strong core of mint, thyme, slight vegetal, very clean, well integrated, complex; palate is medium-full bodied, great acid, still nice core of underlying fruits but above all it is approachable, flows well, tannins are structural but integrated; medium finish. This is a complex, high-acid wine, balanced, that goes well with food, at maturity, very pleasing to drink, held back only by it's finish and a bit low on fruits in the midpalate. 92
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity with chewy tannins. There is a plushness to the tones of herbs, cherris, root vegetables, red berries, and red fruits.
Overall: There was a riper quality to this, but it was more relative as it was still distinctly cabernet franc.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Screagle dinner; 5/17/2013-5/18/2013 (Fremont, CA): Color is medium ruby red with very mild bricking; Great herbaceous nose with dill, thyme, red fruits; palate shows great tannic integration, medium bodied, fresh flavor that is clean on the palate, good red fruit; slightly short finish but excellent. 91-92. Update: This did not fade over the course of the night (2-3 hours) and indeed the nose may have even improved. Solid 92 (nose >> palate). This showed better than I remember from my last bottle in 2010, and it is a superb wine (and even better when you take into account the current auction price). Will drink my last two bottles in the near future, though I think they will last 3-5 years longer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Huge nose with lots of wood and some fruit, mostly blackberry or dark cherry. Palate still has lots of tannin and structure, hard to tell if there is much else. My first cabernet franc varietal, so I don't have much to compare it to.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Started strong, then faded fast. Good fruit with lots of mature complexity right out of the bottle, but then became leaner with some medicinal notes over time. Still enjoyable, but this one is well past its peak and needs to be drunk up...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
We popped a bottle and let it air out for about an hour. Paired with filet mignon and prime rib at Sundance Steakhouse in Palo Alto last night. While it didn't have the interesting character of the '96 St Supery Meritage challenging it, the La Jota was still very enjoyable. Very much a food wine, but not overly tannic or woody. Quite the contrary, there was plenty of evolving fruit on the palate and pleasant floral/berry aromas drifting from the glass. Somewhere between medium and full body. Overall, a good bottle of wine and I'm pleased to see this hold up so well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
very big, chunky, a bit muddled very jammy dried ripe fruit, middle, good but not great. chewy finish. Hadn’t gone bad but shouldn’t have held on to for 9 years. Just a hint of the sharp fruit I’d expect from cab franc...Matched the RP description though,
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Taking to neighbors' (Mike and Jen) house; wife says she doesn't drink wine, husband says he likes "cabernet and pinot grigio", so I guess that means that I get to choose....
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wow, this was a very nice bottle! Tobacco, some leafy notes, rich and dense fruit. This screams Howell Mountain with awesome structure and impressive ripeness. Chewy and chunky and throwing a lot of sediment, this is definitely turning the corner to secondary. That said, it is still dense and rich with a long way to go. This was my last one, but I really enjoyed it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Overripe plums, tobacco, and some heat. The entry is sweet, voluptuous, and silky. The mid-palate is a touch more vegetal, but really that is a background note to what is a very highly extracted, intense wine. The finish has nice length but again some heat. This is a gorgeous wine but a touch one dimensional.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
12/24/2013 - aagrawal wrote: 92 Points
My last bottle. Color is still quite a deep ruby with little bricking even after 16 years; nose wafted out of the bottle while decanting, blackberry, black fruits, but a strong core of mint, thyme, slight vegetal, very clean, well integrated, complex; palate is medium-full bodied, great acid, still nice core of underlying fruits but above all it is approachable, flows well, tannins are structural but integrated; medium finish. This is a complex, high-acid wine, balanced, that goes well with food, at maturity, very pleasing to drink, held back only by it's finish and a bit low on fruits in the midpalate. 92
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/24/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Rotating Dinner Series- A Focus on Cabernet Franc (Domaine Wine Storage, Chicago IL): Nose: There is a plushness to the nose with tones of cherries, root vegetables, red florals, herbs, and some red fruits. There is good balance to the nose as well with solid depth.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity with chewy tannins. There is a plushness to the tones of herbs, cherris, root vegetables, red berries, and red fruits.
Overall: There was a riper quality to this, but it was more relative as it was still distinctly cabernet franc.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/18/2013 - aagrawal wrote: 92 Points
Screagle dinner; 5/17/2013-5/18/2013 (Fremont, CA): Color is medium ruby red with very mild bricking; Great herbaceous nose with dill, thyme, red fruits; palate shows great tannic integration, medium bodied, fresh flavor that is clean on the palate, good red fruit; slightly short finish but excellent. 91-92.
Update: This did not fade over the course of the night (2-3 hours) and indeed the nose may have even improved. Solid 92 (nose >> palate). This showed better than I remember from my last bottle in 2010, and it is a superb wine (and even better when you take into account the current auction price). Will drink my last two bottles in the near future, though I think they will last 3-5 years longer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/24/2010 - aagrawal wrote: 90 Points
Very integrated nose with lots of figs. Very chewy with integrated tannins. A very good wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/2/2009 - aagrawal wrote:
Huge nose with lots of wood and some fruit, mostly blackberry or dark cherry. Palate still has lots of tannin and structure, hard to tell if there is much else. My first cabernet franc varietal, so I don't have much to compare it to.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/27/2009 - KevinS wrote: 90 Points
Started strong, then faded fast. Good fruit with lots of mature complexity right out of the bottle, but then became leaner with some medicinal notes over time. Still enjoyable, but this one is well past its peak and needs to be drunk up...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/22/2009 - MC wrote:
My last bottle. Mature, open, and really enjoyable. Would give 30 minutes of air and drink now but wish I had a few more bottles. A-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/5/2008 - jdoakpark wrote: 92 Points
Wow....still showing well. Dark cherry nose with great mouthfeel and length. Really liked it. last bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/15/2008 - zinslurpie wrote:
JBVino...you have it all wrong. ;-)
We popped a bottle and let it air out for about an hour. Paired with filet mignon and prime rib at Sundance Steakhouse in Palo Alto last night. While it didn't have the interesting character of the '96 St Supery Meritage challenging it, the La Jota was still very enjoyable. Very much a food wine, but not overly tannic or woody. Quite the contrary, there was plenty of evolving fruit on the palate and pleasant floral/berry aromas drifting from the glass. Somewhere between medium and full body. Overall, a good bottle of wine and I'm pleased to see this hold up so well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/10/2008 - MC wrote:
Drink now. B+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/15/2006 - JBVino wrote:
Gone...no pleasure left...all the fruit is gone and all that is left is wood...was much better on release in 2000
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2006 - twoamps wrote: 88 Points
very big, chunky, a bit muddled very jammy dried ripe fruit, middle, good but not great. chewy finish. Hadn’t gone bad but shouldn’t have held on to for 9 years. Just a hint of the sharp fruit I’d expect from cab franc...Matched the RP description though,
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/19/2006 - jdoakpark wrote: 88 Points
Didn't knock my socks off the way I had hoped. good..not great.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/11/2006 - FeloniousMonk wrote:
Taking to neighbors' (Mike and Jen) house; wife says she doesn't drink wine, husband
says he likes "cabernet and pinot grigio", so I guess that means that I get to choose....
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/15/2005 - Eric wrote: 93 Points
Wow, this was a very nice bottle! Tobacco, some leafy notes, rich and dense fruit. This screams Howell Mountain with awesome structure and impressive ripeness. Chewy and chunky and throwing a lot of sediment, this is definitely turning the corner to secondary. That said, it is still dense and rich with a long way to go. This was my last one, but I really enjoyed it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/9/2003 - Eric wrote: 89 Points
Overripe plums, tobacco, and some heat. The entry is sweet, voluptuous, and silky. The mid-palate is a touch more vegetal, but really that is a background note to what is a very highly extracted, intense wine. The finish has nice length but again some heat. This is a gorgeous wine but a touch one dimensional.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment