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Tasting notes
The 2011 La Joie is also gorgeous and about as classy as they come. Based on 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and the rest small quantities of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec, it's a Bordeaux look-alike with its cassis and darker currant fruits as well as lead pencil, flowers, and cedary herb-like aromatics. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has terrific tannins, a wonderful sense of elegance, and a great finish. This is just a classic California Cabernet Sauvignon that blossoms with time in the glass, has wonderful balance, and another 15-20 years of prime drinking ahead of it.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Cabernet Sauvignon takes center stage in the 2011 La Joie. Dark red cherry, plum, smoke, mint, licorice, savory herbs and violets are all laced together nicely. The 2011 possesses lovely mid-palate sweetness in the soft, restrained style of the year. Here, too, the flavor profile is distinctly Old World leaning.
A Médoc-inspired wine, the 2011 La Joie (2,800 cases) is composed of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and the rest small quantities of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. It reveals a slight austerity (typical for this vintage) as well as dry tannins in a reasonably long finish for a 2011. The deep ruby/plum/purple color is followed by notes of tobacco leaf, forest floor, blackcurrants, chocolate and vanilla. Medium-bodied with an impressive attack and mid-palate, some hard tannins give the wine an angular aftertaste. Drink it over the next 10-15 years. Tel. (707) 433-9000
(13.8% alcohol; a blend of 74% cabernet sauvignon, 10% cabernet franc, 7% merlot, 6% petit verdot and 3% malbec): Bright medium ruby. Vibrant aromas of crushed cassis, bitter cherry, licorice and leather. Youthfully tight yet already quite penetrating; today the wine's licorice and fresh herb notes dominate its underlying dark fruit flavors. More backward than the 2011 La Muse, even austere today.
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.