Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Cloudy’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is loaded with blue fruit, herbs and and rocky earth tones. It is a balanced wine with generous fruit and a very nice bouquet of violets and earth. This wine should age very well over the coming decades.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Bacio Divino Janzen Cloudy's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is fully packed and charged on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine explodes with aromas and flavors of black fruits, rocks in the desert, and chalky notes. Enjoy it with garlic and rosemary-infused roast leg of lamb. (Tasted: September 6, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
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Jeb Dunnuck
From the producer's estate vineyard on the north-eastern side of the valley, this is an earthy, elegant and classically structured wine, 100% varietal and aged 22 months in entirely new French oak. Cedar, pencil shavings and cassis combine around a core of structured tannin and powerful length.
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Wine Enthusiast
Soft, velvety cabernet with lots of blackcurrant and chocolate character and some citrus undertones. Rather plush. Full-bodied. Round texture and an opulent finish. Drink in 2022.
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James Suckling
Loads of spiced red and black fruits, mulled cherries, cedarwood, chocolate, and candied violet notes emerge from the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Janzen Cloudy's Vineyard, and this full-bodied beauty has a rounded, expansive texture as well as beautifully polished, silky tannins. This is a rockingly good Cabernet with plenty of richness and depth (it's no lightweight) yet I love its overall balance as well as its purity. It should evolve for 15-20 years with no issues.
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.