2004 Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain

Another prodigious effort is the black/purple-colored 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, which comes from the Keyes Vineyard owned by the Jackson family. It is another small production cuvee of only 382 cases, versus 400 of the Diamond Mountain and 571 of the Mount Veeder. This wine shows the classic mulberry, graphite-laced, floral and chalky notes of Howell Mountain, with tremendous intensity and skyscraper-like texture. It is full-bodied and powerful with sweet tannin and loads of minerality and floral notes. Again, the tannins are so sweet and succulent this wine can be drunk now or cellared for another 15-20 years. One of the great gems of the Jackson family wine empire, these three wines can generally be counted on to be among the very best produced in Napa year in and year out. Chris Carpenter has been the long-time winemaker, and these are all 100% Cabernet Sauvignons aged in almost all new French oak. They come from three vineyards that have totally different microclimates. The Diamond Mountain site in the northwestern sector of Napa Valley; the Howell Mountain site, which is the Keyes vineyard high on the eastern Vaca Mountain chain; and the Veeder Peak vineyard located on the Mayacamas mountain range on the western edge of Napa. These are all gorgeously proportioned, full-bodied, brilliant expressions of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. In many ways, these wines, at least for the last decade, have been true first-growths of Napa Valley. Tel. (707) 948-1968