Edition 23 | September 2018

Greetings from the Mountain Wine Club!

I’m often amazed considering the vineyards and the history that I’m working with in the mountains of Napa Valley. A former ghost winery that was abandoned during Prohibition, the La Jota Vineyard Co. of today is emblematic of the stunning California wine coming from Howell Mountain. This inspires me as I create La Jota wines with distinctive depth, complexity, and ageability, wines that express the terroir and the tradition of this magical place.

Mt. Brave is, just as the name implies, not for the weak of heart. Because of the steep slopes, high elevation, rocky soils, and rugged conditions, all harvesting on Mt. Veeder must be done by hand in the cool morning hours, with small lug boxes carefully moved up and down the mountain to protect the vines and vineyard workers. Mt. Brave wines show the characteristic brambly aromas and blue fruit flavors that are common to Mt. Veeder.

The 2015 vintage of La Jota and Mt. Brave was unusually low yielding and resulted in fruit with very high flavor concentration. La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon shows flavors of blackberry, rosemary, and Asian spice, with great texture and broad tannins. Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits great spice, minerality, blue fruit with slight anise, toast, and dark cherry notes.

We produce these wines in small lots — it’s already difficult to get your hands on them — so a low-yielding year of an amazing vintage will make them close to impossible to obtain. Because membership gives you guaranteed access to La Jota and Mt. Brave releases, we’re delighted to say that these extraordinary and elusive wines have been set aside especially for you. Savor the California wine history and terroir in each sip of the 2015 La Jota and Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignons. I know you’ll enjoy them as much as I do.

Peace,

Chris Carpenter, Winemaker