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Monday, November 16, 2009
'95 and '98 Diamond Mountain
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Monday, August 31, 2009
1995 Diamond Mountain Cabernet
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Monday, August 31, 2009
2002 Lokoya
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
2001 Lokoya Howell
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Thursday, March 19, 2009
Illinois to New York City
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Monday, January 26, 2009
2002 Mount Veeder
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Monday, January 26, 2009
Location
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Monday, October 20, 2008
2008 Harvest
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Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Wine Allocations
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Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Sourcing
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About Christopher: A Chicago native, Carpenter
graduated from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana with a Bachelor of
Science in Biology and the University of Illinois, Chicago with a Masters of
Business Administration. He visited Napa Valley after graduation and realized
his true passion was winemaking. He soon moved to the area and began an
artistic winemaking career.
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Vintage Aging
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Monday, August 31, 2009
1995 Diamond Mountain Cabernet
Greetings,
I have a bottle of your 1995 Diamond Mountain Cabernet. Can you please let
me know if it is ready to drink; and how long I can hold onto it?
Best,
Elysia Starr
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Dear Elyissa,
I took your inquiry as an opportunity to open up a bottle of the 95 Lokoya Diamond. Thank you.
From a structural standpoint the wine is still showing great body, the tannins have softened tremendously, though Diamond Mt of all of the Lokoyas typically has the softest tannin profile. On the pallet there is dried cherry, cocoa, a touch of fig and a wee bit of barnyard. The wine out of the gate was more fresh cherry oriented, the dried cherry being an effect of the ageing process.
You could probably hold onto this for at least another 5 years. There will still be some fruit rather than aged character driven, though if you are more fruit oriented this may be the time to open it and enjoy.
Peace,
Chris
Winemaker - Lokoya
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Wednesday, May 2, 2007
1997 Lokoya Diamond
We have two bottles left of the 1997 Lokoya Diamond Mountain Cabernet. I was looking for some
info on what they are worth now and cellar time remaining or drinkable.
Also, some tasting notes. I cannot find any on the website.
Thanks,
Dru Kopcha
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Dear Dru,
It has been about 6 months since I have tasted this wine, but I can tell you that at that time the wine was drinking great. It has a good 3-7 years left before I'd worry about losing fruit characters. The 97s that Lokoya produced are holding up quite well.
Here are the original tasting notes from our tasting notes published in 1999;
- Dark purple color with garnet ring; high toned, bright aromas of red currant, kirsch and red cherry; expansive, supple core of red fruit on the entry and mid-palate; superb integration of fine tannins on the finish.
As far as finding out what the wine is worth now you may want to check out the auction sites like winebid.com
Chris
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
2001 Lokoya Howell
Chris, I own some bottles of your 2001 Lokoya Howell Mountain Cabernet. When do you think is an optimal time to drink them? Thanks in advance for your help! Peter
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I just had one of those bottles a couple of weeks back. It was tasting fantastic. It still had a tremendous amount of fruit, weight and length. It was great to see how it was holding up. Based on that I would say it has at least another 5 years if not more.
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Monday, August 31, 2009
2002 Lokoya
We have (3) bottles of Lokoya 2002. When should we drink them and are they as wonderful as our Howell Mt. was? Appreciate any info about these wonderful wines....
Ciao,
G Giovannoni
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Can you tell me what appellation they are?
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Thursday, March 1, 2007
2003 Veeder ageing
Mr. Carpenter,
I have had the opportunity a few days ago to taste your Veeder 03. As a French native with a palate formed enjoying young and old Bordeaux, I couldn't help thinking how beautiful your wine is and how different it is from anything I have tasted before. Because my markers are off, could you let me know how you think this great wine will age? Thanks in advance
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The Veeder 03 is a powerhouse, and it is California Cabernet personified. It combines great acid with a concentration of grape tannins that will allow this wine to age for a good 20 years. Hopefully you have several bottles that you can follow it over the years as it develops.
Enjoy!
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
2004 Howell Mountain
Today I bought a single bottle of Howell Mountain 2004. I'm not a collector and bought the bottle for drinking sooner than later but the wine-seller did not know whether the 2004 is best opened now or "wait a few years"?
Your advice, please? Is there quite a bit to be gained by waiting a year, or more, to open this wine?
Thank you,
J Holmes
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Dear Mr Holmes,
You can open the bottle now, and it will be fine, though I would strongly suggest you decant it for a few hours. The wines we produce here are mountain wines that come with quite a bit of tannin. That tannin can be subdued with either time or oxygen, thus the reason for decanting.
Enjoy
Chris
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Friday, April 6, 2007
95 Mt Veeder
Mr. Carpenter,
My family is a long time friend of Mr. Jackson. That said, I wish for you to know sir, that all three of the Lokoyas, but the Mt. Veeder in particular, are the most unbelieavable wines on this planet.
We drink them on only the most special of occasions.
One question. when is the appropriate drinking time for the '95 Mt Veeder.
Many thanks, Ronald Alan Hyman
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Dear Ronald,
Thank you. We always appreciate hearing from folks like yourself that have been enjoying the Lokoya wines.
The 95 Mt Veeder is just coming into its own. 10 - 15 years can pass and the Veeders will still carry a tremendous amount of fruit, this vintage was not an exception. A combination of acidity and sweet tannins help this appellation age particularly well.
Depending on how many bottles you have of the 95, it might be time to open one now, and save another for 5 years hence. This wine should carry to 2015 easily.
Chris
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
96 Diamond, Diamond Mt ageing in general.
I recently drank a 96 Diamond Mountain. Wow! Still had tannins to last a while. Thoughts about the lifespan of the diamond mountain wines?
Alan, NJ
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The Diamond Mt wines do not have the same concentration of tannins that Howell and Veeder have, and thus usually age quicker. The warmer climate at Diamond typically helps tannins develop in the grape cluster. This is a good thing if you want to approach the wines early. On the other hand tannins are an incredible preserving agent, and thus useful for ageing wines and the fruit characters we enjoy in California Cabernet. The 96 vintage had a higher number of tannins than other vintages in general. I tasted this wine about a year ago and thought it was great. I did let it sit in a decanter for about 1.5 hours first, which helped to calm the tannin expression on the palette you referred to.
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Diamond 96
had the diamond mountain 96 which still stands strong; big tannins and tremendous fruit.
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That is a great wine from a enigmatic vintage. It shows how well the Diamond Mt appellation is positioned geographically to be consisitant each year. It was the first vintage we did the Diamond Mt as a Lokoya bottling.
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