LA JOTA VINEYARD CO.
Location: United States, California, Napa Valley ITA

A winery perched on Howell Mountain, overlooking Napa Valley, this La Jota was originally founded in the 1890s by Fredrich Hess, an immigrant from Switzerland. Over time these wines received considerable accolades. In fact, they even received a gold medal at the World’s Fair of 1904 in St. Louis. Current wines are made from low yielding vines planted amongst 28 acres. The high altitude keeps the freshness and minerality to the wine. These vines are planted on volcanic soils at relatively high elevation which gives the red wines excellent richness and aging potential. The terroir of Howell Mountain also has colder temperatures at night, compared to the Napa Valley floor -- which leads to lower yields than the floor and also smaller but richly concentrated fruit. Being at higher elevation also protects the fruit from the intense temperatures sometimes experienced on the Napa floor.

Head winemaker, Christopher Carpenter has a B.A. in biology, as well as an M.B.A. in international business. After officially falling in love with wine, Carpenter completed the illustrious masters of viticulture and enology program at UC Davis. He took over as head winemaker at La Jota in 2005. His current releases were rich and impressive offerings. The 2012 Cabernet Franc is one of the best Napa bottlings I’ve tried this year. It mingles with its feminine side, with rich red fruit and acid structure that is drinking beautifully now. The 2012 Cabernet was a powerful effort that will need some time in the bottle to fully integrate. Similarly, the 2012 Merlot is powerful and rich that will benefit from 1-2 years in the bottle. Carpenter had a wonderful vintage to work with in 2012 but his winemaking is exceptional. These wines have the trademark mountain fruit and balance that you want from the Bordeaux varietals.

Vintage Wine Name Color Rating
2014 LA JOTA VINEYARD Merlot, W.S. Keyes Vineyard red dot 95
2015 LA JOTA VINEYARD Cabernet Franc, Howell Mountain red dot 94
2015 LA JOTA VINEYARD Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain red dot 95
2015 LA JOTA VINEYARD Merlot, Howell Mountain red dot 93
2012 LA JOTA VINEYARD Cabernet Franc, Howell Mountain red dot 94
2012 LA JOTA VINEYARD Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain red dot 94
2012 LA JOTA VINEYARD Merlot, Howell Mountain red dot 93
2013 LA JOTA VINEYARD Cabernet Franc, Howell Mountain red dot 94
2013 LA JOTA VINEYARD Merlot, Howell Mountain red dot 94
2014 LA JOTA VINEYARD Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain red dot 95
2014 LA JOTA VINEYARD Cabernet Franc, Howell Mountain red dot 93
2014 LA JOTA VINEYARD Merlot, Howell Mountain red dot 94

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