1992 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon Anniversary Release Howell Mountain California USA Wine Tasting Note

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1992
95
There is no better, mature, classic California Cabernet Sauvignon for the money than these older La Jota Anniversary wines. The wine is concentrated, round, and packed with mouth-filling layers ripe, blackberries, dark red fruits, tobacco leaf, smoke, herbs and scorched earth. The character-filled finish has staying power. I am sure there is at least another decade left in the tank here.

There is no better, mature, classic California Cabernet Sauvignon for the money than these older La Jota Anniversary wines. The wine is concentrated, round, and packed with mouth-filling layers ripe, blackberries, dark red fruits, tobacco leaf, smoke, herbs and scorched earth. The character-filled finish has staying power. I am sure there is at least another decade left in the tank here.

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The color is a very dark purple, almost opaque. The nose sports a perfume of blackberries a slight blueberry note, cassis, spice, coffee, menthol, vanilla and oak. The wine offers a dense, full bodied, chewy texture. On the palate, the wine displays blackberry liqueur, pepper and black cherry flavors and a long finish. This will age well.

The color is a very dark purple, almost opaque. The nose sports a perfume of blackberries a slight blueberry note, cassis, spice, coffee, menthol, vanilla and oak. The wine offers a dense, full bodied, chewy texture. On the palate, the wine displays blackberry liqueur, pepper and black cherry flavors and a long finish. This will age well.

3,472 Views   Tasted

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Everything about La Jota Vineyard Company Napa Valley California Cabernet Sauvignon wine producer profile, wine tasting notes, wine and food pairing tips, best vintages, history of the property, information on their wine making techniques, terroir and soil. You can also read about the Grapes used for California wine and learn about the extensive History of Napa Valley, California Wines

La Jota Winery History, Overview

La Jota has one of the older histories in the Napa Valley. In its formative years, the property was owned by George C Yount. The land was part of a grant given to Yount by the Mexican Government. The estate was known as Rancho La Jota in those days, which as you can see, is there the name comes from.

The vineyard was cultivated in the 1890's by the new owner, Frederick Hess. At the time, it was part of a much larger 327 acre estate. The small, original, stone winery was built in 1898. La Vineyards was abandoned following prohibition and the vineyards were allowed to go fallow.

That changed in the 1970's when the property was purchased by W.H Smith, who once again, cultivated the vineyards. The style of wine being produced at La Jota was quite rustic, during the 1980's. That changed when La Jota brought in Helen Turley, (who founded Marcassin) as their winemaker.

From that point forward, they could do not wrong. The wines produced at La Jota during the 1990's are stunning, especially the La Jota Vineyard Anniversary Reserve wines. The 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 remain some of the finest examples of mountain grown fruit produced at the time.

La Jota Vineyards, Wines, Winemaking

Situated on Howell Mountain, at elevations over 1,500 feet, the vineyards are above the fog line, giving them a special micro-climate. The terroir is stones, rocks, volcanic material and red clay. All of their vineyards are farmed using self-sustaining farming techniques.

La Jota Vineyards owns 28.05 acres of vines that are planted to 20.58 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.24 acres of Merlot, 2.88 acres of Cabernet Franc and 1.35 acres of Petit Verdot. The vines are planted in 3 separate vineyards that are further divided into 16 different parcels.

La Jota Meadow Vineyard 17 acres planted between 1993 to 2007.

La Jota Vineyard Hill Vineyard 9 acres of vines planted between 1978 and 2007.

La Jota Block Vineyard 1.89 acres planted to 100% Cabernet Franc in 1976.

Today, La Jota Vineyards produces 4 wines.

La Jota Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

La Jota Howell Mountain Merlot

La Jota Howell Mountain Cabernet Franc

La Jota W.S. KEYES Merlot

Over the years, La Jota Vineyards has produced a myriad of wines, including a Petit Sirah, Viognier and Chardonnay, neither of which are in production today. They stopped producing their Anniversary Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon with the 2004 vintage,

Serving and Decanting La Jota with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

La Jota is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. Young vintages can be decanted for 1-3 hours, depending on the character of the vintage. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. La Jota is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, ribs, hamburgers, barbecue, roasted, braised, grilled dishes and stews. La Jota is also good with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, salmon, mushrooms and pasta.

www.lajotavineyardco.com