Marciano Estate, Napa Valley, USA 2019
VINTAGE : 2019
COUNTRY : USA
REGION/APPELLATION : California, Napa Valley
VARIETALS : 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc
“If you want to make great wine, you cannot cut corners. That has always been my philosophy.”
– Maurice Marciano
Maurice Marciano is a fashion industry legend, a leading patron of contemporary art, and now the founder of Marciano Estate winery. Raised in Marseille, France, he and his brothers moved to Los Angeles and created GUESS Inc., one of the most transformative fashion brands of the ‘80s and ’90s, famous for its trend-setting designs and boundary-pushing advertising. After years of co-managing the success of Guess, Maurice pulled back from day-to-day business operations. Maurice’s appreciation of Bordeaux’s great wine estates and his trips to Napa Valley shaped a dream of creating a winery to produce wines of the highest caliber. Resolved to work only with terroir capable of yielding the beautiful wines he endeavored to create, a long search culminated in acquiring a historic St. Helena property. David Abreu replanted the vineyards and building a state-of-the-art winery, he established Marciano Estate as a producer of exceptional, single vineyard wines that reflect the sensibilities of his native France and a style unique to Napa Valley. As Maurice says, “I am not interested in making a lot of wine; I am interested in making the best wine we can.” With the release of wines beginning in 2012, Marciano Estate is on track to be the latest success story in his life.
This wine embodies the power and purity of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape combined with the exceptionally maturing vineyards of Marciano Estate. Hand-picked at night to keep fruit chilled, gently hand-sorted, fermented, barrel-aged in French oak, and bottled unfined-unfiltered.
This 2019 vintage is remarkable in every way, boasting profound aromas and superb textures, forming a sumptuous, well-balanced wine that will undoubtedly please for decades to come.
The wine flaunts intense notes of herbal tea, dried black currants, blackberries, cigar box, and vanilla in the glass. A juicy, silky attack that builds to a rich full-bodied midpalate with a generous long finish rife with flavors of blackberry conserve, ripe summer raspberry, espresso, chocolate, and gentle minerality.
Very approachable wine upon release with 2-3 hours of decanting. Cellaring this wine for 3-5 years will be beneficial and can effortlessly age 20+ years.