Winemaker Notes
Amuse Bouche 2019 crafted in the Pomerol-style, is a blend of 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc from the winery vineyards in the east Rutherford Hills of Napa Valley. 2019 was as close to an ideal growing season as they've have had in recent years. Expect this vintage to rank among the best from the Amuse Bouche estate.
Professional Ratings
-
Vinous
The 2019 Amuse Bouche, a Right Bank-inspired Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend is superb. Expansive, sweet aromatics are immediately seductive. Silky tannins wrap around a core of plum fruit, sweet tobacco, chocolate, spice and leather. This wonderfully expressive, elegant Napa Valley red hits all the right notes in a mid-weight, nuanced style that is all class.
-
James Suckling
This is a beautiful, juicy, Merlot-based red with melted-chocolate and berry aromas and flavors. It’s full and creamy with lovely balance and attractive character, showing freshness and layers of fruit. Violets and berries at the end. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Gorgeous. Drink or hold.
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.