Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
Enticing notes of black cherry, cassis, and dark chocolate with hints of savory spices, this full-bodied wine displays polished tannins and an elegantly balanced mouthfeel. Excellent now but can age well for over a decade.
Ratings
96 Points - Jeb Dunnuck - The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Il Barone (there's 5% Merlot in the blend) is a selection geared to be a rich, powerful wine and it succeeds admirably, offering full-bodied richness and depth, awesome tannin quality, no hard edges, and a complex notes of black and blue fruits, Asian spices, chocolate, and earthy, forest floor nuances. It's another brilliant wine in this lineup.
Awards
92 Points, James Suckling - This has impressively ripe, rich and composed aromas of blackberries, blackcurrants and spiced fruit bread. The palate is a succulent, luscious array of ripe dark berries and plums with chocolate, too. Long and juicy. Drink or hold.
Vineyard Notes
A blend of the Castello's top high-end Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards from the best growing regions of Napa Valley. The majority of the fruit comes from the Rutherford AVA, a region famed for producing beautifully structured and complex Cabernet Sauvignon.
Production Notes
Winter provided a record-breaking rainfall - a welcome end to the 4-years of drought. Bloom and fruit set in May occurred under ideal conditions – no frost, no rain and no blistering winds to interfere with pollination; just warm sunshine. Summer was warm but the vines weathered the heat well and maturity moved along at a steady pace. A short but intense heat wave during the first part of September brought brix levels up dramatically and winemakers waited for the pH, acids, flavor and color development in the grapes to catch up to sugar accumulation. The 2017 wine quality shows a lot of bright acidity and fresh varietal aromas in the white wines, and deep color, sweet fruit flavors and firm tannin structure in the reds. Looking like it will be another classic year! —Brooks Painter, Director of Winemaking
Winemaker Notes
Il Barone is a very flavorful, elegant and structured red wine in the style of high-quality, very limited-production, fine Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the Napa Valley. Excellent long-term ageing potential.
Food Pairing Notes
Pair with foods as bold as the wine, such as roast game meats, grass-fed steak, or grilled portabello mushrooms with reduced balsamic vinegar glaze.
Other Notes
Il Barone is a very flavorful, elegant and structured red wine in the style of high-quality, very limited-production, fine Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the Napa Valley. Excellent long-term ageing potential.