The 2015 Chardonnay Journey captures all the natural richness and viscosity that is so characteristic of the Jackson family's Alexander Mountain estate. Tropical fruit, orange blossom, honey, vanillin and pineapple all flesh out in a Chardonnay that offers a striking interplay of richness and finesse. This is a decidedly unctuous, textured Chardonnay with real personality.

14.5% alc., pH 3.68, TA 0.52, 352 cases, $66. Primary clone is 115. Harvested multiple times over a 10-day period from October 8 to October 18 allowing the wine to display the full range of characteristics of clone 115. 5-day cold soak, proprietary yeast fermentation, punch downs daily, and aged 15 months in French oak barrels, 33% new. · Moderate reddish purple color in the glass. The markedly nuanced nose is a chameleon over time, taking on new aromas as it becomes more giving. Scents of dark berries, earthy flora, black cherry and spice are echoed on the palate. The fruit literally explodes on the mid palate, and holds on through a lengthy finish. Modest in weight, but highly flavorful, with tailored tannins, juicy acidity and a deft touch of oak. This wine tends to build in appeal over time in the glass. When tasted the following day from a previously opened and re-corked bottle, the wine was still terrific, indicating certain longevity. Jolie, will you marry me? Score: 95

The most opulent, sexy, and immediately charming of this admirable quartet of Lokoya Cabernets is the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain. It exhibits a saturated purple color in addition to an explosive nose of licorice, cedar, roasted herbs, and black plums and currants. Full-bodied, with a voluptuous texture, low acidity, and heady alcohol, this offering possesses considerable tannin, but it is beautifully submerged by the wine's depth of extract and high glycerin. Impressive, with a flamboyant personality.

The most opulent, sexy, & immediately charming of this admirable quartet of 1997 Lokoya Cabernets is the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain (1100 cases). It exhibits a saturated purple color in addition to an explosive nose of licorice, cedar, roasted herbs, & black plums and currants. Full-bodied, with a voluptuous texture, low acidity, & heady alcohol, this offering possesses considerable tannin, but it is beautifully submerged by the wine's depth of extract & high glycerin. Impressive, with a flamboyant personality, this '97 should drink well for 18-20 years.

Complex, with concentrated earthy currant, anise, mineral, sage, plum, cedar, and spice, turning polished.

Smooth, ripe and rich, with juicy cherry, currant, plum, anise, herb, mineral and spice flavors. Finishes with supple tannins and pretty oak shadings.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon (Spring Mountain) is pliant, supple and unabashedly sexy. Silky tannins and soft contours add to the wine's considerable appeal. Succulent dark red cherry, plum, mint and sweet spice are nicely pushed into the foreground. Lifted floral notes add finesse, brightness and sensuality to this undeniably appealing Cabernet Sauvignon from Lokoya.

This packs a wallop of blueberry, açaí and blackberry compote flavors at the core, backed by juicy energy that seemingly won't quit, as waves of anise, bramble and sweet tobacco course through on the finish. Solidly built, with energy and vibrancy to match the density and muscle.

Lokoya's 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain is gorgeous. Here, the richness of the year is wonderfully balanced by the wine's structural frame. Dark blue and black fruit, menthol, leather, graphite, cassis and lavender meld together beautifully in the glass. An effortless wine, the 2012 captures the personality of the year in spades. Hints of vanilla, white flowers, lavender and a hint of French oak add the final layers of complexity. This is the most polished of the four Lokoya Cabernets.

Napa Valley: 2007 Retrospective - Napa's Turning-Point Vintage Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain is intensely scented of tapenade, chargrill, Indian spices and mossy bark with a core of crème de cassis, preserved plums and blueberry compote plus a touch of crushed rocks. Rich, full-bodied and decadently fruited, with bags of earth, black berry preserves and smoky layers, the palate is framed by rugged, ripe, rounded tannins, and it finishes with fantastic freshness and energy.

The most limited production offering, the opaque purple-hued 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain displays classic, Bordeaux-like characteristics of cedarwood, tobacco leaf, creme de cassis, licorice, and spice box along with a note of minerality all presented in an elegant, powerful, full-bodied style with sweet tannins. Representing elegance and terroir allied with considerable power and purity, this offering is made from a vineyard planted in the mid-1970s. While approachable, it will be even better in 5-6 years, and should still be going strong at age 25-30.

Extraordinary wines produced by Jackson Family from three mountain vineyards. Big, intense but beautifully balanced.

The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain, which comes from the Wallis vineyard, shows terrific fruit intensity, oodles of creme de cassis, incense, a touch of white chocolate and coffee bean, cinnamon and clove-like spices, sensational blackberry and black currant fruit with some licorice and subtle background smoky oak. This beauty has wonderfully integrated sweet tannin and its opulence and lushness suggest drinking over the next 10-15 years.

Possesses a more floral / crème de cassis personality with licorice, chocolate, and earth characteristics. This powerful, concentrated 2002 is a classic mountain Cabernet Sauvignon with singular style. The tannins are firm, but sweet.

There are 393 cases of the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. Scents of bay leaves, lavender, blackberries and crushed rocks are in this steely, firm Cabernet. It boasts huge body along with hard, noticeable tannin, and a broodingly backward, muscular personality. The tannin is elevated, but so is the wine's extraordinary richness and intensity. It is a classic mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that requires 7-10 years of cellaring. It should keep for 2-3 decades.

The 2015 Legacy Red is laced with sweet red berry, mint, pomegranate and spice notes. What stands out most is the wine’s freshness, especially in 2015, a year in which so many wines are blowsy. Picking early and focusing on the higher elevation portions of the vineyard were a huge help. The 2015 is gorgeous and refined from start to finish. This is an impressive showing.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2015 Proprietary Red Wine is a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec. Deep garnet-purple colored, it reveals vibrant cassis, plum preserves, blackberry pie and chocolate-covered black cherries with touches of licorice, tilled soil and cigar box. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, it has a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing very long with a compelling perfume coming through.

The 2016 Chardonnay is bright, focused and energetic, with tons of citrus peel, white flower and crushed rock character. This is an especially fine, chiseled wine from Legacy, and also a more than worthy follow up to the 2015 and 2014.

The 2015 Chardonnay shows the natural intensity of the year in its voluptuous, tropical personality. Pineapple, mint, orange peel, smoke and apricot infuse this racy, powerful Chardonnay. Oily and viscous on the palate, with tremendous textural depth and tons of sheer appeal, the 2015 has a lot to offer.

The 2015 La Jota Merlot was aged in 72% new French oak for 22 months before bottling. Legendary winemaker, Chris Carpenter, has blended in 10% Petit Verdot to this Merlot. The nose shows very pretty tones with red cherry, lavender, with toasty oak and black raspberry cordial. The palate shows a brilliant minerality and seriously good weight, invoking black tea, milk chocolate, black cherry pie and lighter tones of sage. This is downright delicious now but really needs two more years to fully come together.

Deep garnet-purple, the 2015 W.S. Keyes—composed of 84.5% Merlot and 15.5% Cabernet Sauvignon—is profoundly scented of baked blackberries, warm plums and cherry pie with touches of hoisin, menthol and chocolate box. Full-bodied, rich, concentrated and totally seductive, it fills the mouth with generous black fruit preserves and exotic spice layers, framed by velvety tannins and finishing on a lingering minty note.

The La Jota and W.S. Keyes vineyards are the sources for this classically styled wine that is intense and alive in minerality. Clove, black pepper and mountains of dried herb are front and center between firm, dusty tannin and oak. The texture is plush and velvety on the palate, with plenty of length on the finish.

Another Brilliant mountain wine made by Chris Carpenter; lush and juicy with firm structure and generous plum and berry fruit; deep and elegant with intense flavors and excellent balance; lovely, complex and long.

An absolutely spectacular Merlot is the 2013 Merlot W.S. Keyes, a blend of 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Sauvignon. There are only 305 cases, but it is certainly one of the great Merlots of Napa Valley. Blackberry fruit interwoven with a hint of black cherry jam, licorice, camphor and charcoal are all present in this full-bodied, chocolaty, dense, super-sexy wine to drink over the next 10-15+ years.

The tannins are so fierce on this baby Cabernet that they effectively lock it down and make it tough to drink now. Yet there's a fabulous core of blackberries that are rich, ripe and intense. Everything about it suggests ageability. Give it at least eight years in a proper cellar, and it could age even longer.