Fifty Years Rooted on Howell Mountain
In 1976, a small block of Cabernet Franc was planted beside La Jota’s stone winery high on Howell Mountain. Set into volcanic soils and grafted to St. George rootstock, the vines would go on to outlast phylloxera and become some of the oldest surviving Cabernet Franc vines in Napa Valley today.
The block is modest in scale — just 1.32 acres — yet it carries an outsized presence within La Jota’s history. At a time when few Napa Valley producers viewed Cabernet Franc as a standalone wine, La Jota quietly committed itself to the variety. Since the earliest years of the estate, Cabernet Franc has remained not an accent, but a voice of its own.
Time has reshaped the vineyard slowly.
The vines now yield less fruit than they once did, but what remains has gained depth, precision, and quiet intensity. The balance comes naturally. The canopy rarely requires adjustment. The shoots seldom need topping. Harvest moves evenly through the rows, guided more by observation than intervention.
“For me, old vines are not simply about age,” says Winemaker Chris Carpenter. “There is a mellowing of the tannins, a harmony with the fruit. I like to think the grapes from these old vines form the soul of the wine.”
On Howell Mountain, Cabernet Franc reveals itself differently. The elevation, volcanic soils, and long growing season bring structure, minerality, natural acidity, and concentrated flavor into alignment. The wine carries the mountain’s signature restraint — less defined by weight than by tension, detail, and length.
Today, regenerative farming practices continue to shape the vineyard’s future, reinforcing the health and resilience of vines that have already endured for half a century.
Fifty years after its planting, this vineyard remains a quiet constant on Howell Mountain.
A testament to patience.
To endurance.
To the belief that some of Napa Valley’s most profound expressions are shaped not only by place, but by time itself
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