2006 Buccella Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

SKU #1055257 95 points James Suckling

Dried fruits like a Christmas cake, with hints of chocolate and nuts on the nose. Full bodied, with a thick and slightly jammy palate, but it's tight and velvety at the end. A fascinating wine. (2/2011)

95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, a candidate for Cabernet of the vintage, reveals a gorgeous perfume of chocolate, black raspberries, flowers, ink, and graphite, followed by a full-bodied, textured, superbly concentrated wine with terrific purity as well as density... Buccella, under the guidance of well-known winemaking consultant Celia Masyczek has fashioned brilliant Cabernet Sauvignons in both 2006 and 2007. (RP) (12/2009)

93 points Wine Spectator

Tight, dense and concentrated, with a tight mix of wild and blackberry fruit that's both powerful and restrained, slowly unfolding to offer spice, mineral, sage and iodine. The long, persistent finish is framed by trim tannins. (JL) (6/2009)

91 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Saturated ruby. Sexy aromas of cassis, licorice, loam and toasty oak, along with torrefaction notes of bacon, coffee and mocha. Sweet, lush and outsized; a no-holds-barred cabernet with a strong element of chocolatey torrefaction. Has the sheer mid-palate density of material to support its huge, toothfurring tannins. A big boy! (ST) (6/2009)

K&L Notes

Neil Martin's Wine Journal: "This has the most ridiculous nose at first: cherry liqueur, creme de cassis, sweet figs...far too ostentatious for my austere palate. But credit where credit is due, towards the end of the bottle it does seem to calm down and demonstrate more delineation. The palate is full-bodied with sweet ripe cassis, mint and black plum fruit. Succulent and opulent, quintessential showy Napa Cabernet without the intellect behind it. But I enjoy its hedonism in small doses... Drink 2011-2020. Tasted August 2010." (eRobertParker.com, 5/2011)