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Tasting notes
Deep ruby-garnet, the 2014 La Joie is alluringly tertiary on the nose with tones of iodine and truffle, old cigars, dried tobacco and blackcurrant. The medium-bodied palate is velvety and seamless, and the wine is showing a structural harmony and ideal balance of fruit and umami character. It's drinking beautifully!
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Aromas of lead pencil, graphite and hot slate. Blackcurrants, too. Full-bodied, very tight and tannic. Linear and driven on the finish. Very fresh and energized. Racy and focused. Primarily cabernet sauvignon. Needs three to four years to come around completely. Try in 2021.
77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot. Vegy and fresh. Not at all heavy or sweet. A bit tarry in fact. Dry finish. Very different from most. Racy. Sinewy. Possibly too much so.
The estate’s Cabernet Sauvignon dominated release is the 2014 La Joie. It’s an incredible wine based on 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and the balance Petit Verdot. Reminding me of a top vintage of Ducru-Beaucaillou (the 2010?) with its classic Cabernet character, it offers thrilling notes of crème de cassis, exotic flowers, liquid rock-like minerality, and graphite and lead pencil nuances. Deep, concentrated, and backward, it has perfect balance, good acidity, and an undeniable Bordeaux-like weight and texture. Nowhere near primetime, it needs 5-7 years of cellaring and is going to keep for three decades.
About the producer
The winery was the dream of Jess Jackson, the man who founded the incredibly successful Jackson Family Wines. He, however, wanted to produce truly fine wine in Sonoma County.