Mario Bazan Cellars
2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
California: Napa Valley
Mission Briefing
All Hail King Mario
Today’s wine hails from Mario Bazan Cellars. Mario has spent the past couple of decades honing his winegrowing and winemaking skills at some of the most prestigious wineries in the world, including Opus One, To Kalon and Stag’s Leap - to name a few. Now he brings his skills to bear on his own Mario Bazan Cellars wines and wow, are they superb.
Please jump on over to read my review of today’s rich, bold and delicious Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
Bold and rich and loaded with Napa-classic dark fruit, spice and earth. Bold blackberry, black cherry, red currant and braised plum are the first lofty aromas to hit your nose. As the wine breathes for a little while, it opens up to reveal bramble, dried leaves, raspberry, baking spice, blackberry candy, cedar and black pepper.
Juicy, dark and bold on the palate, with Blackberry and cherry compote, black currant, baker’s chocolate, grilled fig, grilled plum, dried cranberry, tobacco, Alpine strawberry, mixed spice, unsweetened black licorice and a hint of cracked pepper.
Mario Bazan Cabernets have become some of our best-selling small-producer cabs of the last several years. If you’ve tried their wines, you know why. If you haven’t, well, we hope that you grab some of today’s wine - before we run out.
Tasting Profile
Look: | Dark crimson from the dark core to the slightly lighter edges. Skinny legs form high up on the glass wall and then slowly meander downward. |
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Smell: | Bold blackberry, black cherry, red currant and braised plum, bramble, dried leaves, raspberry, baking spice, blackberry candy, cedar and black pepper. |
Taste: | Blackberry and cherry compote, black currant, baker’s chocolate, grilled fig, grilled plum, dried cranberry, tobacco, Alpine strawberry, mixed spice, unsweetened black licorice and a hint of cracked pepper. |
Finish: | Extra extra long, with bold fruit and spice flavors that seem to go on forever. Firm structure gives this wine great backbone. |
Pairing: | A powerful wine like this challenges you to pair it with something its equal. We suggest spice-rubbed grilled red meats for a perfect pairing. |
What the Winery Says
- Winemaker
- David DeSante
- Appellation
- Napa Valley
- Vintage
- 2009
- Varietal
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Abv
- 13.5