Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Notes of blackcurrants and blackberries with hints of spices, walnut and leaves. Medium-to full-bodied with firm tannins and a polished texture. Juicy and savory fruit profile with a medium finish.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2020 Bodegas Bianchi Famiglia Cabernet Sauvignon, produced from vineyards in San Rafael and the Uco Valley, is firm yet easy on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers aromas and flavors of rustic earth, spice, black fruits, and licorice. Enjoy it with grilled tri-tips. (Tasted: October 26, 2022, Napa, CA)
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.
By far the largest and best-known winemaking province in Argentina, Mendoza is responsible for over 70% of the country’s enological output. Set in the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains, the climate is dry and continental, presenting relatively few challenges for viticulturists during the growing season. Mendoza, divided into several distinctive sub-regions, including Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, is the source of some of the country’s finest wines.
For many wine lovers, Mendoza is practically synonymous with Malbec. Originally a Bordelaise variety brought to Argentina by the French in the mid-1800s, here it found success and renown that it never knew in its homeland where a finicky climate gives mixed results. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir are all widely planted here as well (and sometimes even blended with each other or Malbec). Mendoza's main white varieties include Chardonnay, Torrontés, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.