An excellent bottle of mountain Napa cab - lots of sediment, so definitely decant. Great structure (distinct without being overwhelming) and rich but not jammy dark fruit, a serious bottle.
Okay, this wine surprised me. The nose was a typical Howell Mountain cab with some deep, brooding fruit. However, upon tasting it, I was expecting a still very structured wine since it was a 2013 but the tannins were fully resolved and it was more elegant than bruising. This would be a tough wine to pick out in a blind taste but it drank nicely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Have I mentioned I love sales (aka cheap)? I think so. Anyway, as I scanned the items on sale at my local Whole Foods the other day, low and behold, I see that they have beef tenderloin on sale! I know I’ve mentioned how much I love that particular morsel of food.
Like any good saver (aka frugal), I had to purchase a particularly well-marbled filet during my visit to retrieve my weekly groceries. Likewise, a great piece of meat requires a great wine. That brings us to today’s wine:
La Jota Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
In most cases, the single shopping event per week would stop there, BUT, the ignominious draw of that economically priced piece of beef was more than I could stomach (nice choice of words since that is where it would end up).
So back I go to Whole Foods a couple of days later to partake of another piece of tenderloin with that intramuscular fat strewn through it so delicately.
What worked ever so well was that since I only drank half of the bottle of wine with my first meat-crazed obsession, I still had wine enough for the second as well (thank you Coravin).
As part of the Jackson Family Wines, there is a commitment to sustainability and to what they call regenerative farming by 2030; farming and ranching in harmony with nature. Under the watchful eyes of winemaker Chris Carpenter, who does such a fabulous job at Cardinale and Lokoya, and once again devoting myself to drinking one of my many 2013 Napa Cabs, this wine kept pace with and excelled in culminating my beef obsession and my thrifty (aka penny-pinching) ways, at least as far as food goes. The wine…..not so much, but I bought this back when I was young and carefree, well carefree.
Beautiful aromas emanated as I set about to decant the wine the first of two times. The blending of all five Bordeaux varieties: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec, were instrumental in creating this wine of depth and intensity beginning with big lush fruit of cassis and blueberry notes, only a slight rustic quality and well-balanced acidity and softer tannins that led to a spice-note finish. In my attempts to educate why decanting can be an important step, I did notice that the first sip before the 2 hour decant seemed to suggest a cola note. That disappeared over time.
The wine has many years ahead, so keep in mind that it will take a long time to soften the fruit as Cabs from 2013 were bruisers; decanting is a must should you open one a little sooner. Fear not should 2013s not be around, for more recent vintages have performed equally well. Find a bottle and see if you can “double your pleasure, double your fun.” Oh, and all due respect to Wrigley Doublemint gum.
Cheers
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
La jota has always been an intriguing wine for me, I love the appellation , Il love the nose, I love the depth, I love the Bordeaux similarity with a touch of Napa. Opened the 2013 tonight 5/15/2021, tannic, very much but love the nose, did not have the time to air the bottle out, so much in this, had I knew this should have been opened hours ago and let it come to life. I have another 13 and a 14, I swear I am going to be more patient and papered next tome.
This meets the minimum requirement to be labeled Cabernet Sauvignon at 75 percent of the blend, and it shows. In particular, the Petit Verdot is quite expressive, with Malbec also making its presence known. Solid representation of Howell Mountain terroir. To the winemaker's credit, this leans heavily toward a wine of place, rather than fruit. And, the oak treatment is strikingly judicious by Napa standards. In sum, not a fruit bomb, nor an oak monster. On the downside, the extraction level is somewhat heavy and the 14.5 abv a touch spiky.
The wine held form over three days, and began to unwind by the fourth. Food, especially cheeses and meats enhance the total package. This magnum showed young, and it would have held for at least a decade. This noted, while three to five more years while likely smooth out any remaining edges, recommend drinking by 2028-2030.
This is nowhere near being ready, even with a 3+ hour decant, but it’s classic Napa Cabernet at its finest. Rich, plump, and luscious notes of black cherries, cassis, and tobacco are framed by soaring vinosity, sweet tannin, and tremendous fruit purity. But it’s the powerful structure and interminable length that reminds you this has decades of beautiful drinking pleasure ahead of it. Delicious but I wish I had waited another 5-7 years.
Definitely has some good black fruit on the nose. This wine starts out soft and smooth with great spice, minerals and vanilla. It’s well balanced too. The flavor is big and bold. Nice effort
I was concerned when I saw some recent reviews of this wine...calling it thin, so I opened mine. I would not characterize this as thin, I would instead call it intense. A wine doesn't have to be heavy or full to be better, this wine did not disappoint, it is light on its feet and provides big and intense dark fruit flavors. Don't look for richness here, expect tightly coiled fruit. The tannins are built for the long haul for sure, but this is Howell Mt. fruit so there you go. I give the scoring edge to the '14 vintage, it had a bit more depth. Two days to finish.
Requires 1 hour+ decant - closed without decant. Nose: floral with some spice (sage) and hint of bacon. Medium body, medium tannins. Thin. Blackberries, dark fruit. short finish. Not the best from La Jota, especially for a '13.
A full bodied wine with medium / low acidity. Big tannins. Notes of spice, sour, and tobacco. Not that expressive at first ... needed to mellow out and decant. An hour in the decanter helped. I think it could use a few years of bottle aging.
Medium to heavy weight. Nice Floral nose and good to excellent mouthfeel that got better as the wine breathed throughout the night. Not a brute as the tannins have balanced with the fruit and acidity.
Made more enjoyable by the company of fellow CTer Mark1npt.
Enjoyed with newfound friends over 2 hours at dinner. Great floral nose, initially a little thin on entry but evolved over the 2 hours to a wine with nice complexity and layers of fruit with more weight in the mouth, great tannins and perfect acidity. This is a beautiful wine but give it at least 2 hours to open up and enjoy!
Decanted and drank over 2 hours. Great fruit profile of dark purple fruits w hints of chocolate and coffee, the oak was a little clumsy and with more time may integrate. However, the wine was a little thin and watered down. Drink after 1-2 years and decant. a little overpriced.
Very dark colour, opaque, looks so concentrated Spicy nose, cloves, dark fruit, oak Dark and dense on the palate Not giving much away at the moment Wait
A wine absolutely built to age and not opened. I had this and was challenged to find notes amidst the dominant tannin. Right now they are bell pepper and sage with restrained fruit which was only evident after 1 minute. Quite a wine which you would be best keeping in the cellar till 2020.
N: Closed; Vanilla atop earth with pyrazines underneath? Intensity lurking?
P: MF body; ALMOST swtish frt (with SOME heat?) QUICKLY met by an almost lip smacking pucker which surprised me by pretty much resolving by the LONG, ult bitter/swt finish. NEEDS 'til '20/'21, *quite* poss more, then making its 15th... min. An *impressive* effort! :) [Now unavail @ the tasted $71.95, as of early Feb '19 wine-searcher still shows several U.S. vendors @ from $70-100.]
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep purplish red. Layered with dark mountain berries and baking spices. Heavy tannins (7/10) and full bodied. Restrained with gravel, black cherries, dusty and dark cocoa. Long finish. Drink till 2037.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted for 5 hours and needs a minimum of 3. Inky pitch black coloring with viscous texture. Very primal/harsh/murky still with most of the fruit buried under tannin and heat on the finish. The 11% Merlot adds pretty much the only friendly elements. Dark chocolate, chalky cassis, plums, and tart black cherry. Nice wine but nowhere as clean/fresh or precise as Lokoya or Cardinale.
Howell Mountain Spring Wine Tasting, SF, nose of ripe, black cherry, black berry, briar, and allspice, same on the palate, big body, medium amount of soft tannins, tasty, mouth filling fruit, pervasive tasting, needs 4 years to peak, long finish, at $85 its a buy.
Nice howell mountain grapes, expressive nose, opened up nicely over 2hrs in bottle. Red/black fruits, licorice root, cocoa. Good acid, full tannins for now, good length.
Deep dark wine with nice leather and black fruit on the nose. Nice textured palate. Full body and medium finish. Excellent structure. Decanted 90 min before drinking to soften tannins.
Really fine example of mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is concentrated, full bodied and deep. The fruit is ripe, the tannins are relatively refined, giving you a nice texture and mouthfeel, with a smoky, dark berry, earthy finish.
Unbelievable wine. Deep dark fruit (dark strawberry perhaps), caramel notes, graphite, blackberries, and layered red and dark fruit. Tannins are grippy, yet sweet, with a lovely finish. 95 points. Very close to the Joseph phelps Insignia. Put a few bottles away to try in the future.
9/23/2023 - Bob23 Likes this wine: 95 Points
An excellent bottle of mountain Napa cab - lots of sediment, so definitely decant. Great structure (distinct without being overwhelming) and rich but not jammy dark fruit, a serious bottle.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
6/9/2023 - Tarpon222 wrote:
Ballybunion
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/2/2023 - hhyder Likes this wine: 94 Points
Okay, this wine surprised me. The nose was a typical Howell Mountain cab with some deep, brooding fruit. However, upon tasting it, I was expecting a still very structured wine since it was a 2013 but the tannins were fully resolved and it was more elegant than bruising. This would be a tough wine to pick out in a blind taste but it drank nicely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/3/2022 - Hi.its.Don.4.Wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Double My Pleasure, Double My Fun
Have I mentioned I love sales (aka cheap)? I think so. Anyway, as I scanned the items on sale at my local Whole Foods the other day, low and behold, I see that they have beef tenderloin on sale! I know I’ve mentioned how much I love that particular morsel of food.
Like any good saver (aka frugal), I had to purchase a particularly well-marbled filet during my visit to retrieve my weekly groceries. Likewise, a great piece of meat requires a great wine. That brings us to today’s wine:
La Jota Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
In most cases, the single shopping event per week would stop there, BUT, the ignominious draw of that economically priced piece of beef was more than I could stomach (nice choice of words since that is where it would end up).
So back I go to Whole Foods a couple of days later to partake of another piece of tenderloin with that intramuscular fat strewn through it so delicately.
What worked ever so well was that since I only drank half of the bottle of wine with my first meat-crazed obsession, I still had wine enough for the second as well (thank you Coravin).
As part of the Jackson Family Wines, there is a commitment to sustainability and to what they call regenerative farming by 2030; farming and ranching in harmony with nature. Under the watchful eyes of winemaker Chris Carpenter, who does such a fabulous job at Cardinale and Lokoya, and once again devoting myself to drinking one of my many 2013 Napa Cabs, this wine kept pace with and excelled in culminating my beef obsession and my thrifty (aka penny-pinching) ways, at least as far as food goes. The wine…..not so much, but I bought this back when I was young and carefree, well carefree.
Beautiful aromas emanated as I set about to decant the wine the first of two times. The blending of all five Bordeaux varieties: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec, were instrumental in creating this wine of depth and intensity beginning with big lush fruit of cassis and blueberry notes, only a slight rustic quality and well-balanced acidity and softer tannins that led to a spice-note finish. In my attempts to educate why decanting can be an important step, I did notice that the first sip before the 2 hour decant seemed to suggest a cola note. That disappeared over time.
The wine has many years ahead, so keep in mind that it will take a long time to soften the fruit as Cabs from 2013 were bruisers; decanting is a must should you open one a little sooner. Fear not should 2013s not be around, for more recent vintages have performed equally well. Find a bottle and see if you can “double your pleasure, double your fun.” Oh, and all due respect to Wrigley Doublemint gum.
Cheers
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/16/2022 - Scar510 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Buccan. It was ok. kinda flat.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/14/2022 - Trolson wrote: 89 Points
Still needs more time. Tight and green, nose barely open.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/26/2021 - theburgburger wrote: 86 Points
Bouquet of oak, leather, and Robert Parker’s pits. Fine now, probably fine later
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
7/19/2021 - bonedoc wrote:
Limited notes, better o night 2, a touch old world in style.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
5/15/2021 - Erichlau wrote: 93 Points
La jota has always been an intriguing wine for me, I love the appellation , Il love the nose, I love the depth, I love the Bordeaux similarity with a touch of Napa. Opened the 2013 tonight 5/15/2021, tannic, very much but love the nose, did not have the time to air the bottle out, so much in this, had I knew this should have been opened hours ago and let it come to life.
I have another 13 and a 14, I swear I am going to be more patient and papered next tome.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
9/13/2020 - Motz wrote: 93 Points
Magnum, enjoyed over four days.
This meets the minimum requirement to be labeled Cabernet Sauvignon at 75 percent of the blend, and it shows. In particular, the Petit Verdot is quite expressive, with Malbec also making its presence known. Solid representation of Howell Mountain terroir. To the winemaker's credit, this leans heavily toward a wine of place, rather than fruit. And, the oak treatment is strikingly judicious by Napa standards. In sum, not a fruit bomb, nor an oak monster. On the downside, the extraction level is somewhat heavy and the 14.5 abv a touch spiky.
The wine held form over three days, and began to unwind by the fourth. Food, especially cheeses and meats enhance the total package. This magnum showed young, and it would have held for at least a decade. This noted, while three to five more years while likely smooth out any remaining edges, recommend drinking by 2028-2030.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
6/27/2020 - Baron Slick wrote: 95 Points
This is nowhere near being ready, even with a 3+ hour decant, but it’s classic Napa Cabernet at its finest. Rich, plump, and luscious notes of black cherries, cassis, and tobacco are framed by soaring vinosity, sweet tannin, and tremendous fruit purity. But it’s the powerful structure and interminable length that reminds you this has decades of beautiful drinking pleasure ahead of it. Delicious but I wish I had waited another 5-7 years.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (13)
6/3/2020 - pas.vino Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very enjoyable. Dark fruits, smooth, soft tannins. I wish I had more.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
5/31/2020 - Indywinefan Likes this wine: 94 Points
Similar to the last bottle. Dark fruit. I really enjoy wines from Howell Mountain.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
3/29/2020 - Indywinefan Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark fruit and tannins. Very enjoyable wine.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (8)
10/9/2019 - bonedoc wrote: 90 Points
This could pass for a Bordeaux, beefy, dark fruits and some earth - somewhat of a departure from Napa. Wishing for more fruit.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
5/26/2019 - WizardNeedsFood Likes this wine: 92 Points
Two hour decant. This is all Cab Sauvignon all the time. Full bodied, blackberry, espresso, pencil shavings, medium oak. Medium finish. Solid.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
4/12/2019 - CV Griz Fan Likes this wine: 94 Points
Definitely has some good black fruit on the nose. This wine starts out soft and smooth with great spice, minerals and vanilla. It’s well balanced too. The flavor is big and bold. Nice effort
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
4/8/2019 - wineotim Likes this wine: 93 Points
I was concerned when I saw some recent reviews of this wine...calling it thin, so I opened mine. I would not characterize this as thin, I would instead call it intense. A wine doesn't have to be heavy or full to be better, this wine did not disappoint, it is light on its feet and provides big and intense dark fruit flavors. Don't look for richness here, expect tightly coiled fruit. The tannins are built for the long haul for sure, but this is Howell Mt. fruit so there you go. I give the scoring edge to the '14 vintage, it had a bit more depth. Two days to finish.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (7)
4/6/2019 - WizardNeedsFood wrote: 91 Points
Requires 1 hour+ decant - closed without decant. Nose: floral with some spice (sage) and hint of bacon. Medium body, medium tannins. Thin. Blackberries, dark fruit. short finish. Not the best from La Jota, especially for a '13.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
3/22/2019 - Edmond Dantes wrote: 90 Points
A full bodied wine with medium / low acidity. Big tannins. Notes of spice, sour, and tobacco. Not that expressive at first ... needed to mellow out and decant. An hour in the decanter helped. I think it could use a few years of bottle aging.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
5/5/2018 - HowellMountainCru wrote: 93 Points
Medium to heavy weight. Nice Floral nose and good to excellent mouthfeel that got better as the wine breathed throughout the night. Not a brute as the tannins have balanced with the fruit and acidity.
Made more enjoyable by the company of fellow CTer Mark1npt.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
5/5/2018 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 94 Points
Enjoyed with newfound friends over 2 hours at dinner. Great floral nose, initially a little thin on entry but evolved over the 2 hours to a wine with nice complexity and layers of fruit with more weight in the mouth, great tannins and perfect acidity. This is a beautiful wine but give it at least 2 hours to open up and enjoy!
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
12/28/2017 - Winowhyno Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful Cab....nice balance.....smooth finish...cherries seem to be the dominant flavor....yummy
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
12/23/2017 - bonedoc wrote: 90 Points
Decanted and drank over 2 hours. Great fruit profile of dark purple fruits w hints of chocolate and coffee, the oak was a little clumsy and with more time may integrate. However, the wine was a little thin and watered down. Drink after 1-2 years and decant. a little overpriced.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
10/12/2017 - henrygjeffreys Likes this wine:
Very dark colour, opaque, looks so concentrated
Spicy nose, cloves, dark fruit, oak
Dark and dense on the palate
Not giving much away at the moment
Wait
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
7/3/2017 - tomoem wrote: 92 Points
A wine absolutely built to age and not opened. I had this and was challenged to find notes amidst the dominant tannin. Right now they are bell pepper and sage with restrained fruit which was only evident after 1 minute. Quite a wine which you would be best keeping in the cellar till 2020.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
6/24/2017 - srh Likes this wine:
Winebar [1 Rosé, 3 Whts, & 6 Reds] from 06/23/2017 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): Cf. the CellarTracker Article link [lower lft] to get specific info for this vintage, including acclaim.
N: Closed; Vanilla atop earth with pyrazines underneath? Intensity lurking?
P: MF body; ALMOST swtish frt (with SOME heat?) QUICKLY met by an almost lip smacking pucker which surprised me by pretty much resolving by the LONG, ult bitter/swt finish. NEEDS 'til '20/'21, *quite* poss more, then making its 15th... min. An *impressive* effort! :) [Now unavail @ the tasted $71.95, as of early Feb '19 wine-searcher still shows several U.S. vendors @ from $70-100.]
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/11/2017 - JGirl Likes this wine: 91 Points
Thin, fruit forward, dry and mouth puckering good red wine
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/7/2017 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 92 Points
Deep purplish red. Layered with dark mountain berries and baking spices. Heavy tannins (7/10) and full bodied. Restrained with gravel, black cherries, dusty and dark cocoa. Long finish. Drink till 2037.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/26/2017 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for 5 hours and needs a minimum of 3. Inky pitch black coloring with viscous texture. Very primal/harsh/murky still with most of the fruit buried under tannin and heat on the finish. The 11% Merlot adds pretty much the only friendly elements. Dark chocolate, chalky cassis, plums, and tart black cherry. Nice wine but nowhere as clean/fresh or precise as Lokoya or Cardinale.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
5/17/2017 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 95 Points
Black fruit, red fruit, cedar, spice, herbal notes, hints of chocolate, smokey oak. A
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
4/24/2017 - All Is Whale Likes this wine: 92 Points
@ Napa All-Stars
Like the 4th of July in my mouth. That mountain range intensity i tell ya.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
3/29/2017 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 92 Points
Howell Mountain Spring Wine Tasting, SF, nose of ripe, black cherry, black berry, briar, and allspice, same on the palate, big body, medium amount of soft tannins, tasty, mouth filling fruit, pervasive tasting, needs 4 years to peak, long finish, at $85 its a buy.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
3/22/2017 - dclaggett Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nice howell mountain grapes, expressive nose, opened up nicely over 2hrs in bottle. Red/black fruits, licorice root, cocoa. Good acid, full tannins for now, good length.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
2/24/2017 - A2BigRed Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep purple, blackberry and dark cherry, smoky tannin, very dry and chewy. Well balanced. Would definitely purchase again.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/17/2017 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep dark wine with nice leather and black fruit on the nose. Nice textured palate. Full body and medium finish. Excellent structure. Decanted 90 min before drinking to soften tannins.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
1/23/2017 - Tdewhurst Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very full and smooth for a 2013. Howell Mtn appellation is becoming as much a favorite to us as Red Mountain.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
11/19/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Really fine example of mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is concentrated, full bodied and deep. The fruit is ripe, the tannins are relatively refined, giving you a nice texture and mouthfeel, with a smoky, dark berry, earthy finish.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
11/11/2016 - sdwineguru Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark garnet; big berry nose; ripe grapes (14.5 alc), oak; big fruit extract; tight tannins; long chewy finish.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
10/24/2016 - RajivAyyangar wrote: 88 Points
Institute of Masters of Wine - 2013 Cabernet Walk-Around Tasting (Hyatt, San Francisco): Similar to other Chris Carpenter wines (makes Lokoya and Cardinale). Ripe, but bright too. Well made in a ripe style.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
9/25/2016 - mcease wrote: 95 Points
Unbelievable wine. Deep dark fruit (dark strawberry perhaps), caramel notes, graphite, blackberries, and layered red and dark fruit. Tannins are grippy, yet sweet, with a lovely finish. 95 points. Very close to the Joseph phelps Insignia. Put a few bottles away to try in the future.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)