Di Co, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2017

Massimo di Costanzo’s Di Co bottling is the product of a meticulous and quality obsessed winemaker. In this, his second vintage pulling fruit from the 30 year old Raphael vineyard in Napa’s Oak Knoll district, Massimo has crafted a superb wine, yet one he still feels doesn’t quite live up to the Di Costanzo name. As such, bottled and priced as a DI CO wine, this single vineyard Napa Valley bottling represents superb value (in the Napa scheme of things). Harvest and vinification is done exactly as Massimo does for the Di Costanzo bottlings, and yet as Massimo gets to grips with the terroir it it remains a little broader and more immediate than the other wines in the range yet offers up “considerable potential” according to Antonio Galloni. Still present is the di Costanzo signature structure, with beams of ripe tannins and minerality providing a chiselled feel. Spice, black fruit, underbrush and dried tea notes burst from the glass, followed by sweet mocha and cacao nib. Mint and sage appear on the finish. This is approachable enough to drink out of the gates but will be better in 3 years.