Bacio Divino Janzen Cloudy's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
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Parker
Robert -
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Winemaker Notes
In 1999 we planted this vineyard, which sits on the steepest part of our estate hidden high up in the Vaca Mountains. The 2015 vintage offered a low yield, but the very highest possible fruit quality. Perhaps our most aromatically interesting bottling, the nose offers with notes of brambly fruit, licorice, earth and herbs. The initial entry onto the palate offers blue and black fruit flavors, most notable plums and blueberry, releasing with notes of cocoa nibs and mocha in the finish. The generous tannins are already integrating well. While cellaring will be rewarded we feel this wine has more now at a young age than its Beckstoffer vineyard counterparts.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A barrel sample to be bottled in January 2018, the 2015 Janzen Cloudy's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon features a very deep purple-black nose and scents of spicy blackberry preserves, dried mulberries and kirsch with hints of sautéed herbs and mocha. Very big, rich and concentrated in the mouth, it has a firm yet velvety frame of tannins with a lively lift on the very long finish.
Barrel Sample
Range: 93-95
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Wine Enthusiast
From the producer's estate vineyard wedged within the Vaca Mountains, this is a nicely structured wine, lengthy in dry tannin and a persistence of dried herb. A lingering fruitiness of cherry and cassis offer depth of flavor within floral aromatics of lavender and sage. The finish is defined in mocha.
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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.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.