Amici Cellars: A New Find!

A few friends who loved Napa Valley wine decided to make their own — and started Amici Cellars in 1991. With that quiet beginning, they named the winery Amici, which means “friend” in Italian. The winery itself is located in Calistoga just a couple of miles past the center of town on Old Lalley/Toll Road. It is a rural setting with gorgeous views of the Palisades Mountain Range and sitting directly under Mount St. Helena. Easy to get to, it’s only a five minute drive from town and a delightful wine experience.

The tasting we experienced was set up outside in front of the guesthouse on a pleasantly warm Sunday afternoon. With the mountains in the background, our host Shawn took us through seven wines.

Hospitality makes a big impact on a winery visit. It can complement the wine tasting or easily detract from your experience. Our host was stellar. Shawn was very relaxed and informative in our journey through the wines that he shared. He was educated on each of the wines and did not rush us or hover to inquire as to what we thought. He left us to our own experience of the wine and let us discover. While some may think that seven wines is a lot, he mostly served them in pairs, allowing us to compare and contrast the varietals or the vineyards. It was truly one of the best tastings my friends and I had experienced in a long time. Well-done, Shawn!

Oh, and the wines! We tasted Sauvignon Blanc from old vines – 38 years old (simply delicious) and Chardonnay that was well crafted. The Pinot Noir stood on its own, and it was fresh with bright red fruit and cola notes. Then we tasted through four cabernets, each was unique in its flavor profile yet all shared the great quality of being well-crafted and a pleasure to drink.

The quality of the wine was excellent. Here are descriptions of the two Cabernets that I purchased, written in Vinous by Antonio Galloni. He says it all quite well.

2015 Amici Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon Missouri Hopper: Powerful and imposing, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer-Missouri Hopper captures the essence of this famed Rutherford site. Dark cherry, spice, cured meats, menthol, new leather, bittersweet chocolate and a typical note of Rutherford dust run through this dense, imposing Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemaker Tony Biagi squeezed every ounce of potential out of this fruit. This is a gorgeous wine from Amici. — Antonio Galloni. 94 points.

2015 Amici Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon Morosoli Vineyard: The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Morosoli is laced with super-ripe black cherry, blueberry jam, lavender, mint and spice. Sumptuous and forward, with notable breadth, the 2015 also offers a good bit of freshness within the context of the year. A dash of new oak is evident, but not at all intrusive. — Antonio Galloni. 93 points.

You do not need to be in Napa Valley to find these wonderful wines. You can visit the website and try a few bottles for yourself.

As you can tell, I think this is a great find and definitely worth it.

Enjoy!