Robert Parker’s “Wine Advocate” touts Rocca Family Vineyards and awards high scores for two outstanding Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon’s!
In 1999 the two owners Mary Rocca and Eric Grigsby purchased the 21 acre property after a 3 year search for the “ideal” Napa Valley vineyard site. Mary called upon renowned winemaker Celia Welch, then Celia Masyczek to produce the label’s first vintages.
The debut bottling was the 2000 Syrah, a varietal which to this day garners praise and awards for the Rocca family. But Rocca really got on the map in 2002, when its Grigsby Vineyard Cabernet came in #1 in a blind tasting of 12 Rising Star Cabernets.
Later, the wine was taken with a group of 12 other Cabernets to show in France’s 12 Best Cabernets from California. It came in #1 over there as well. Finally, those same 12 Cabs had another blind tasting competition in SF to see how they would rank by American consumers. It came in #1 again!
Rocca’s star was rising fast. But so far they have been much under the radar, but I have a feeling that this will change soon. The current winemaker Paul Colantuoni worked for many years under Celia Welch and has taken a few pages out of her “note book” and it shows with the new wines.
ROCCA Tesorina 2013v – 95 Pts- Robert Parker
Rocca 2013 Tesorina is everything you’d expect from their flagship bottling – the “little treasure” – from one of the most extraordinary vintages Napa Valley has ever seen. We consider it the most complete, profound, utterly beautiful wine we’ve produced to date. There’s a deep, rich core of sweet black cherry and wild blackberry fruit here, with fascinating complexity that comes from prominent spice notes, hints of spring flowers and graphite and rock dust, and a significant melted chocolate component.
On the palate this is full-bodied, densely packed stuff, with serious depth and substance. In a perfect reflection of this very special vintage, though, the wine expresses its richness and concentration with exquisite balance and elegance. The texture of this wine is simply extraordinary. It’s gorgeously lush and sumptuous, and it finishes with rich, beautifully polished tannins that are reminiscent of the softest cashmere. This is an iconic expression of a truly exceptional vintage in Napa Valley, and we hope you’ll treasure it for many years to come.
ROCCA Grigsby Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2013- 94 Pts–Robert Parker
The 2013 Grigsby Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is the deepest, richest, most complete and balanced version of this wine Rocca has ever produced. It shows gorgeous weight and density, supported by the exquisitely resolved tannins of the extraordinary 2013 vintage.
The overall theme here is one of perfectly ripe dark red fruit, especially sweet black cherries, beautifully complemented by sophisticated spice and floral elements as well as prominent notes of vineyard dust and rock quarry dust. The quality of the vintage is particularly evident on the mid-palate, where tremendous richness perfectly matches the luscious black cherry flavors, and on a highly polished, silky smooth finish that seems to last forever. This is one that you can enjoy for a long, long time to come.
Robert Parker 94 Points The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Grigsby Vineyard from Yountville is a softer, almost Margaux-style of wine compared to the Coombsville. The wine offers Asian plum sauce, a touch of ripe, black cherries and blackcurrants, background smoky oak and a nice fleshy full-bodied mouthfeel with velvety tannins and well-integrated acidity, wood and alcohol. This is a beauty that can be drunk now, or cellared for another 15 years.”
Both of these award winning wines are produced in very limited quantities.
Rocca wines are available in New York exclusively through Romano Brands Fine wines.
Contact Michael Romano at (646) 948-1100 for additional information.
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