Winemaker Notes
The wine is deeply Cabernet colored, complex and layered in blackberry and current fruit. The intriguing Sangiovese varietal adds linear tannins and an indigenous fruitiness. The Petit Sirah adds a firm structural backbone and a fresh, bright acidity to the wine. Overall, Bacio Divino is balanced, precocious in its youth, generous in flavor and aroma, yet retains an elegance not always found in California wines.
Blend: 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Sangiovese, 14% Petit Sirah
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The flagship offering, and one of the most interesting blends from northern California, is the 2001 Proprietary Red Wine. Composed of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Sangiovese, and 14% Syrah, it is a structured, closed, but dense, promising, rich, deep, and full-bodied effort. Aromas of black fruits, loamy soil, incense, minerals, pepper, and cedar are present in this impeccably balanced offering. With good underlying acidity and ripe tannin, this knock-out red should handsomely repay cellaring. Give it 1-3 more years of bottle age, and drink it over the following 10-12.
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James Suckling
This may not have some of the concentration of past years, but I like the fruit and spicy character. It's medium to full body, with a supple tannins and a pretty finish of sweet tobacco and berries. Drink now.
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Wine Spectator
Intense and concentrated, with fine structure and chewy tannins wrapped around a core of spicy currant, anise, blackberry and spicy nuances. Given its size and tannic strength, short-term cellaring is advised. Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Petite Sirah.
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.