Grapelive Daily Pick

By Kerry Winslow

***
bravante06.gif2006 Bravante Vineyards “Trio” Red Wine, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley. (Bordeaux Blend)
The Bravante’s; George and Nancy started this small winery on Howell Mountain with the mission to create world class wines and follow in the footsteps of legends like Randy Dunn and make an impact on the Napa scene from this fabled area, home to some of the best and most sought after grapes there are. They have produced fantastic wines since the nineties and I have followed them with a keen interest myself after trying their first releases. This wine though was new to me, as I had only had their Cabernet and Merlot before, and I was instantly intrigued by the perfume and color as well as the elegant, though solid nature of this Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The nose has raspberry, blueberry, wildflowers and spicy sweet wood notes. The palate is full and intense with lots of dark fruit, tannin and subtle oak notes all playing big roles until it gets some air, after which, it really picks up blackberry, currant, plum, cedar and tobacco leaf flavors. The wine is remarkable, layered and complex, while still being enjoyable and refined, very much like a Pessac-Leognan Bordeaux, somewhere between Chateau Haut-Bailly and the famed Chateau Haut-Brion in Character. Should get smoother and more interesting in the follow few years. ($42 Est.) 92-94 Points, grapelive

*Available via The Wine Spies at a special price for 24 hours only on Saturday March 27th 2010!
www.thewinespies.com

***

By admin