Bacio Divino Proprietary Red 2019
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Connoisseurs'
Guide -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Dark black and red fruits, leather and cigar box aromas dominate the nose. The dark purple color coats the glass, with an explosion of brambly fruit and hints of herbs and spice upon first tasting the wine. A rich and full bodied mouthfeel leads to a long finish packed with fine grain tannins we feel will integrate beautifully over the next few years.
Blend: 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Sangiovese
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
An Artful Red Wine Napa Valley 2019 Surprisingly open and inviting for a Cabernet of its tender age and a wine that boasts a good deal of richness with ample black cherry and currant fruit enriched by no small amount of sweet oak, this oh-so-supple, well-balanced, full-bodied rendition is already easy on the palate with nicely buffered, fine-grained tannins providing a gentle bit of grip. That it will keep and age effortlessly for a half-decade or more is certain, and we would choose to wait on it for a few more years, but Cabernet lovers who are short on patience should find more than enough to like in the shorter term.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Bacio Divino is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Sangiovese that's mostly from Beckstoffer Heritage vineyards, with the Sangiovese from St. Helena. It has a solid bouquet of ripe cherry and hints of blue fruits supported by notes of chocolate, leafy tobacco, and cedary spice. Medium-bodied, it has a supple, elegant mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a charming, forward, balanced style that will keep for at least a decade.
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Being so motivated, I longed to create a distinctive, noble wine. In the California tradition of working with the new to improve the traditional, I looked to achieve a way of broadening the distinctly majestic flavors and aromas of the king of Napa Valley's varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon. Over the years I've had the opportunity to experiment with various lots of Cabernet, and I eventually settled on the hillside fruit from Ahollinger vineyards in the Mount Veeder area. This vineyard produces a bold and expressive, yet elegant wine. In 1992, we discovered the Sangiovese fruit of Cal Showket in the Oakville appellation, and were literally overwhelmed by the intensity of what resulted in our first crush in 1993. To embellish the color and acid levels of the Sangiovese, we crushed and macerated this fruit with one and a half tons of the best Petite Syrah fruit I had ever sampled.
As time aged each of these wines, and molded their individual character, I was able to determine a blend that married the elegant, yet rich and softly oaked Cabernet with the Sangiovese's long and linear tannins, at the same time elevating the cherry, berry Sangiovese fruit to a pronounced level. The resulting wine showed that a whole could be greater than it's individual parts. And so...'Bacio Divino', a divine kiss, was born.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.