Bacio Divino Pazzo Red Blend 2018
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Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Pazzo (which means 'crazy' in Italian) is a 'funky', unpretentious blend - an ingratiating wine that is wonderful to drink in its youth. In addition to its good looks, it displays a nose of red berry aromas and follows through with spirited, sweet, lingering, fruit flavors.
Blend: 38% Sangiovese, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Syrah & 4% Petite Sirah
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a blend of 38% Sangiovese, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Syrah and 4% Petite Sirah sourced from across the appellation. Bold, brawny and thick in berry flavors and tannins, it offers accents of dried herbs, toasted oak and game. Editors’ Choice
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Red Wine has a lush, super sexy, full-bodied style that carries loads of red and black fruits, unsmoked tobacco, chocolate, and peppery notes in an undeniably delicious, pleasure-bent, balanced style. It's beautifully done and well worth seeking out! It should keep for at least 3-5 years, although there is no need to delay gratification.
Other Vintages
2013-
Enthusiast
Wine
Being so motivated, I longed to create a distinctive, noble wine. In the California tradition of working with the new to improve the traditional, I looked to achieve a way of broadening the distinctly majestic flavors and aromas of the king of Napa Valley's varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon. Over the years I've had the opportunity to experiment with various lots of Cabernet, and I eventually settled on the hillside fruit from Ahollinger vineyards in the Mount Veeder area. This vineyard produces a bold and expressive, yet elegant wine. In 1992, we discovered the Sangiovese fruit of Cal Showket in the Oakville appellation, and were literally overwhelmed by the intensity of what resulted in our first crush in 1993. To embellish the color and acid levels of the Sangiovese, we crushed and macerated this fruit with one and a half tons of the best Petite Syrah fruit I had ever sampled.
As time aged each of these wines, and molded their individual character, I was able to determine a blend that married the elegant, yet rich and softly oaked Cabernet with the Sangiovese's long and linear tannins, at the same time elevating the cherry, berry Sangiovese fruit to a pronounced level. The resulting wine showed that a whole could be greater than it's individual parts. And so...'Bacio Divino', a divine kiss, was born.
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.