Nose
The 2012 Booth Bella Oaks has a fluidic grace that flows and floats. An expansive perfume of ripe purple and blue fruits is underlain by exotic tropical flowers and smoky, resinous spices that only hint at the burgeoning complexity of this wine.
Palate
The seamless and soft-edged palate of milk-chocolate and cinnamon infused ripe Damson plum and sun-kissed blackberry glides through a silkily textured exit that finishes with a polished structure of extremely fine-grained tannins. While elegant and inviting now with just a touch of juiciness that highlights it youth, additional age should only serve to further refine and reveal.
Growing Conditions
The ideal 2012 growing season was classic Napa Valley – great conditions during budbreak through flowering got things off to a great start followed by a Goldilocks summer of “just right” days and cool, foggy nights. A nice warmer stretch from late July through mid-August helped ripen the ample crop and set-up the near perfect September stretch and October finish that gave the fruit the extended hangtime we were hoping for.
Aging
21 Months
100% French, 95% new, 5% used
