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2012 Amuse Bouche Napa Valley Red Blend

Amuse Bouche

2012 Amuse Bouche Napa Valley Red Blend

We confess... We went French this vintage. On the art, that is! We couldn't resist. For our Amuse Bouche 2012, we commissioned celebrated Parisian artist, Marc Clauzade, to create the gorgeous painting featured on this label: Le Bar à Vin.

The Wine

We harvested the Amuse Bouche 2012 on October 2 from our lofty vineyards in the east Rutherford Hills of Napa Valley. The blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc is currently resting in a combination of Taransaud, Radoux and Gamba cooperage, awaiting its March 2014 bottling date. 575 cases were produced.

The Artist: Marc Clauzade

Born in 1957 and raised in a family of art and fashion (both grandmothers were designers for France's top fashion houses in the 1930s), Clauzade embarked on an education in engineering before acknowledging his passion for art and enrolling at the Beaux-Arts school in Toulouse. Shortly after completing his training, he was awarded the coveted Grand Prix Oil from the FIAP Paris Salon. His art is now exhibited worldwide, including stateside at institutions such as the Galerie d'Art Français in New Orleans and the Galerie Rue Toulouse in Carmel. Clauzade uses flowing brushstrokes and contrasting lines to create flirty, colorful personalities in retro-chic milieus. The French Art Network hails Clauzade as "the first artist to reinterpret Lautrec and Dégas in over 100 years." Visit www.clauzade.net to learn more about Marc Clauzade's work.

92
Points
JAMES SUCKLING
2012 Vintage
"Aromas and flavors of walnuts, balsamic vinegar and fried fruits that follow through to a full body, round and juicy tannins and a savory finish. Some orange-peel undertone. Drink in 2018." - December 2016
93
Points
TASTING PANEL
2012 Vintage
"Bright, silky and elegant with tangy plum and fine acid structure; juicy and pure with finesse and huge aging potential. 95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc." - 2015
90+
Points
ROBERT PARKER
2012 Vintage
"The 2012 Proprietory Red Amuse Bouche offers juicy blue and red fruits along with surprisingly noticeable acidity, good cleanliness and purity, and a style that falls somewhere between a French Bordeaux and a Napa red wine. Although still youthful, it displays a potential for plenty of aromatic complexity, medium to full body, and savory flavors. The wine has yet to reveal its considerable potential, so give it several more years of bottle age and drink it over the following 10-15 years." - Wine Advocate, October 2014
A Wine for All Senses
WYNN
2012 Vintage
"Since they launched the Napa-based label Amuse Bouche in 2002 – an homage to the soft yet structured allure of the Merlot-centric right bank of Bordeaux – Schwartz and Barrett knew that they wanted the wine to resonate for both the eye and the palate... 'We set out to craft an amazingly delicious right-bank style using Merlot and Cabernet Franc...Amuse Bouche gets a little Cabernet Franc blended in, adding backbone and structure to the Merlot, which is so voluptuous and soft.'" - Fall 2014 (view article)