Amici Napa County Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Vinous
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petite Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of blackcurrants, iodine, oyster shell, and dark chocolate. Medium- to full-bodied with polished fine tannins that run the length of the wine with chocolate, hazelnut, and blueberries. Give it time to come together. Best after 2025.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The base 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley should certainly be outstanding. It offers classic darker cassis and cherry fruits, some graphite and chocolate nuances, medium to full body, and a plush, rounded, yet concentrated profile on the palate.
Range: 90-92 -
Vinous
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is plump, juicy and super-expressive. A burst of dark cherry, plum, incense, tobacco and dried herbs race across the palate. Pliant and dense, with striking depth, the Napa Valley Cabernet is shaping up to be a winner. Barrel Sample: 90-92
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Standing out as a solid value in Napa Cabernet, Amici's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is slightly herbal, with a touch of matchstick on the nose as well, but those elements give way to deep cassis notes and hints of cedar. A blend of several vineyards, matured in 65% new French oak, it's medium to full-bodied and tightly wound but reasonably textured, with a long, velvety finish.
Over thirty years in the making, Amici Cellars is a blend of the old and the new. Preserving its legacy and producing wines of exceptional character is the unwavering commitment of proprietors John Harris and Bob Shepard, who attribute success in large part to the age-old adage “nothing replaces hard work,” but also their intuition and ability to capture the most significant opportunity in a decisive moment.
The turning point was 2009, when after more than 15 years of making wine as a passion project with modest distribution, the two friends fully committed to taking their adventure and turning it into a prestigious Napa Valley winemaking estate. The United States was facing the biggest economic downturn since the 1930s, costly Cabernets no longer flying off shelves, but John and Bob have always trusted in their intuition and a core belief - bottle beautiful, high quality wines that are accessible to enjoy every day and for age-worthy collections.
They have decidedly chosen a talented team, seasoned winemaker Tony Biagi, a Napa Valley veteran with more than 25-years-experience, and associate winemaker Dante West, a rising star whose energy matches his true-to-varietal wines. Together they bring decades of relationships with outstanding growers in the field that, combined with their craftsmanship, creates the best possible capsule of each vineyard site, a combination of the soil, climate and people who farm it.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.