Il Passito is a wine for kings and queens; rich, unctuous and complex. An elegant and nuanced honey sweet dessert wine, made in the fine sauterne style. The wine displays bright aromas of honey, vanilla bean, and citrus zest with rich butterscotch-caramel undertones.
A regal dessert wine made from overripe grapes which develop Botrytis cincerea, or "Noble Rot", shriveling the skins and enhancing sugar, acid and flavor intensity. The resulting harvest in late autumn is vastly diminished in yield, then barrel-fermented and aged for 2 years, becoming more concentration and flavorful. The rare late harvest varietal grown in the Yountville AVA of Napa Valley.
ACCOLADES
• Wine Enthusiast Magazine (91 Points)
"Blending 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc, this late-harvest wine was fermented and aged in all-new French oak for nearly two years. Dark gold in color and viscous in texture, it tastes of peach candy, applesauce and vanilla bean, while being lengthy and balanced in sweetness." -Virginie Boone
• San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (Gold Medal)
"There were over forty-eight judges, representing various North American wine regions, evaluating 5,816 wines from nearly 1,000 wineries for the 2022 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition."
♦ A wax sealed bottle is a beautiful addition to your wine rack, but can be intimidating when it comes time to open it. This is easier than you may think! Simply plunge your corkscrew through the wax, as if it were not even there. Lift the cork slightly and wipe any wax crumbles from the opening. Pull the cork the rest of the way out and enjoy!