This is a wine of amazing purity and intensity, from its dark ruby-magenta hue to its piercing elements of graphite and flint minerality, to its penetrating scents and flavors of blueberry, pomegranate and black currant; in its vibrancy, resonance and appeal, this wine can only be described as “exciting,” though the dry, dusty tannins coat the palate; some time in the glass adds complex notes of fruitcake and espresso, truffles and loam and a touch of bittersweet chocolate; the finish fleshes out the wine with a complement of warm spices and cool minerals that reach fathoms deep. Exceptional.

2007 La Jota Vineyard Merlot, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley: powerful, concentrated flavors of black plums, dark chocolate and espresso, firm tannins, long finish.

Merlot also plays well with the other grapes. La Jota Vineyard adds nothing, going with 100 percent merlot grapes because it gets such powerful fruit from Howell Mountain in Napa.

Extraordinarily elegant for Howell Mountain; lots of red and blue fruit character with scents of earth, pepper and spice, but also finishing Napa-way, with chalky tannin.

The La Jota cabernet franc vineyard was planted back in 1976 and was grafted onto St. George rootstock, which resists phylloxera. Hand-crafted at each step, the wine is also not fined or filtered. Complex flavors with rich black fruits made this a popular wine with panelists.

Fruit from La Jota's estate vineyards on Napa's Howell Mountain makes this Cabernet Franc powerful and luscious. The wine's spicy edge is delicious with a juicy cut of meat like the clay-oven-roasted pork with herbs and garlic.

Is a rich and satisfying as its Cabernet cousin, though composed in a slightly darker key. Aromas of blueberry and sweet pine greet one's nose, while the palate offers blackberry fruit blended with dark chocolate, vanilla, and sassafras.

Very dark garnet in color, this wine smells of cassis and mocha and licorice. In the mouth, black cherry and cassis flavors have a nice toasty oak and vanilla note that nicely pairs with the sweet fruit. Powdery, muscular tannins grip the edges of the mouth but show restraint as the wine finishes. The wood shows itself most in the way the mouth dries out through the finish, leaving me wishing for slightly more restraint on the new oak. Excellent acidity. 14.5% alcohol. 2362 cases produced. Score: between 8.5 and 9.

Raise a glass of red wine to Dad From Mount Veeder, Mount Brave Cabernet Sauvignon and La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain both deliver blue and black fruit, woody herb, truffle, and warm spice.

This is a rockstar cab that has it all –– great structure, lush fruit and a supple texture. Weighted to bold black fruit with a hint of tobacco and an underpinning of spice, this cab is decadent. It’s worth the price, if you have the disposable income. Well crafted. 4½ stars.

It’s Cabernet season in Napa Valley, which means it’s the perfect time of year to stock up on cellar-worthy selections for yourself, or as gifts for other wine enthusiasts in your life. Of the new releases I’ve tried, these are my favorites. They’re likely to be some of your favorites, too. (Some choices were sent for editorial consideration.)... On Howell Mountain, La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon layers chocolate, espresso, cherry, and cedar.

22 Cabernet Sauvignon Wines, Mostly Napa Valley Sometimes all you have to do is sniff and sip a wine to think, “O.K., this is the real deal.” In the case of La Jota Vineyard Co. Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, Napa Valley, you pay for that heightened reality, but depending on your point of view, the expenditure is worthwhile. The wine is a blend of 75 percent cabernet sauvignon, 8.5 percent cabernet franc, 7.5 merlot, 6 malbec and 3 petit verdot, encompassing what writers used to call “the five classic Bordeaux grape varieties.” Of course malbec is as rare now in Bordeaux as a diamond in a turkey’s craw, but whatever. Anyway, the wine aged 22 months in French oak, 65 percent new barrels, and was bottled unfined and unfiltered. The color is an impenetrable black-magenta; every element here is intense and concentrated, deeply spiced and macerated, powerful and robust but beautifully balanced; call it an amalgam or a melange — what the nose and palate perceive are piercing notes of iodine, lavender and licorice, mint and black olive, hints of sage, thyme and underbrush, all leavened by dense, juicy black fruit scents and flavors and rigorous, rock-ribbed tannins that lend the wine a vigorous foundation and Olympian finish. 14.5 percent alcohol. Try from 2020-’21 through 2030-’33. A great achievement from winemaker Chris Carpenter. Exceptional.

Valentine's to Indulge Your Sweet Love is in the air as Valentine’s Day approaches. But what is the perfect gift to show how much you care? This year give bottles of sparkling Rosé, and dark chocolate filled red wine, instead of the traditional bunch of roses or box of chocolates. Here are selections to shower your sweetie with flavorful romance, all available throughout Hawaii Island... If divine chocolates make your true love melt, Cabernet Sauvignon selections from...La Jota ($100)...will please, melding dark chocolate with blackberry, cassis and woody herbs.

Wine of incredible quality in a breathtaking setting Flavors are chocolate, espresso, ripe blackberry, and a hint of Petit Verdot finishing with an earthy tannic structure, there is no doubt you are drinking a Howell Mountain Cabernet.

The wine showed a dark ruby almost opaque color. Blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate, raspberry, plum, vanilla, oak and eucalyptus arrived on the nose. Blackberry, vanilla, black cherry, cassis, plum, mocha, oak and eucalyptus followed on the palate where the black cherry rejoined the mix. The wine exhibited excellent structure and length, along with velvety tannins. This lushly textured wine would pair well with a hearty lamb stew or beef short ribs.

Very heavy bottle. Dark crimson. Quite complex nose and pretty demanding and youthful on the palate. This seems less ashamed of its tannins than most. And I’d keep it longer before broaching it. An interesting treacly note but it’s not too sweet. 16.5/20

What to Drink Now: Napa Cabernet Sauvignon A good bottle of Cab remains a go-to wine Napa Valley delivers sublime Cabernet Sauvignon options. The joy is finding what your palate prefers. Here are a few to try this season. (Some were sent for editorial consideration.) Get a taste of all of these delicious wines and more, while helping the Napa Valley community, at Auction Napa Valley May 31 through June 3, presented annually by the Napa Valley Vintners. For lovers of high-elevation mountain fruit, consider Cardinale ($250) which blends five of Napa’s mountain ranges into layers of dried blueberry, leather, cigar box and espresso for an earthy representation of textured, highly structured Cabernet Sauvignon. Or highlighted in individual mountain AVAs, like Cardinale sister wines La Jota ($75) from Howell Mountain and Mt. Brave ($75) from Mount Veeder, both concentrated, dense and divine.

75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.5% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc, plus Petit Verdot and Malbec. 19 months in French oak, 89% new. Fresh and very Cabernet Sauvignon. Quite a bit of tannin. Chewy but not too sweet. 16+/20.

Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry, plum and violets. In the mouth, the wine tastes of bright black cherry and cassis, with juicy pops of unripe blackberry thanks to excellent acidity. A gorgeous floral, herbal note lingers in the finish along with fine grained, muscular tannins. A very young wine that will resolve nicely with some time. 14.5% alcohol. 4333 cases made. Score :between 9 and 9.5

I am more of a mountain fruit fan, adoring the wines of Atlas Peak and Howell Mountain, as well as hopping over the Mayacamus Mountain into Sonoma Valley to sip the wines produced off the Moon Mountain AVA. High atop Howell Mountain the historic La Jota Vineyard was first planted in 1898, and has been producing earthy, elegant wines with a distinct earthiness since. The La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon is well-structured and refined, bringing freshness thanks to the high elevation of the vineyard, to the rich, robust wine. The result, something you can wait to toast with, on any special occasion or any simple day.

2011 La Jota Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley: toasty oak aroma, flavors of blackberries, herbs and licorice, bold and full-bodied, long, smooth finish.

Smooth as silk and with no elbows. Dark chocolate, black plum and black cherry fruit, with subtle oak spice and minerality.

Cool cassis, cherry. Good balance, burnt fruit character, shows promise. 2 years.