Bottle Rocket: Two New Releases from Napa

Kim Wallace and Chris Carpenter know a lot about wine.

Wallace, who once worked at Brenner’s Steakhouse in Houston, was crowned the Best Sommelier in Texas in 2006 by the Texas Sommeliers Conference.  So when Wallace and winemaker Chris Carpenter insist that you taste two soon-to-be-released, prominent Napa Cabs, you shouldn’t resist.

Carpenter is the winemaker of Lokoya and Cardinale, two highly regarded Cali Cabs with loyal followings. The 2006 releases are as strong as any of his wines.

The 2006 Lokoya (Mount Veeder)  is ripe and jammy, loaded with focused notes of black currants, minerality, and tons of dark fruit. Its big tannins and bright acid should settle over the next 10 years.

For more restrained Cab , as a component of  a Bordeaux blend, for example, Carpenter’s  ’06 Cardinale reigns as the king of Kendall-Jackson’s portfolio for good reason. As in previous years, the ’06 is dark and concentrated, full of both polish and muscle. Swirl a sip around in your mouth, and you pick up  black cherries, bings, strawberries, and blue fruit.  The oak lends a backbone of dusty tannins and dark-roasted coffee. Cardinale is lush and sexy; it’s ready to drink now…but it’ll be even better if  you can force yourself to wait a few years.