Edition 21 | February 2018

Greetings from the Mountain Wine Club!

This shipment brings you two exceptional Merlots—the 2014 La Jota Vineyard Co. Howell Mountain Merlot and the 2014 Mt. Brave Mt. Veeder Merlot. We’re fortunate to have some of the oldest Merlot vines in Napa Valley, and these wines are from vineyards nestled in two of Napa’s most prestigious mountain AVAs—Howell Mountain and Mt. Veeder.

The 2014 La Jota Howell Mountain Merlot is a Cabernet lover’s Merlot. Grapes for this Merlot come from our Meadow blocks and provide the wine with a cocoa and chocolate character. We also source grapes for this wine from portions of the W.S. Keyes Vineyard a mile down the road, where more hours of sunshine give this Merlot a pop of bright fruit character and broader tannins. This Merlot’s notes of dark chocolate and dark red berry give way to clove, toast, minerality, and weight on the palate.

The 2014 Mt. Brave Merlot is a pure expression of Mt. Veeder, but with some Asian spice, blueberry, cherry blossom floral character, and a fine tannin background that can dial into those flavor compounds and carry them for a while. We don’t make a lot of Mt. Brave Merlot, but what we do produce is done with great care and great love, and every bottle is precious.

I think Merlot is one of the great varieties, and we have some of the best Merlots in Napa. I know you’ll enjoy these two tremendous wines.

Peace,

Chris Carpenter, Winemaker