Buoncristiani Family Winery
The Closer
2022 Dessert
Calistoga
Auction 27 | Lot No. 156
Vintage: 2022
Buoncristiani Family Winery
The Closer
Dessert
Calistoga
10 cases produced
Highlights
- Winemaker Jason Thomas Buoncristiani’s "The Closer" is a one-of-a-kind Petite Sirah dessert wine sourced from old vines in Calistoga
- "The Closer" is fortified through a friendship with master distiller Hubert Germain~Robin and his barrel-aged, ultra-premium brandy
- The result of marrying these two liquid gems is an unctuous, ultra-ripe, opulent wine with intense black fruit and dark chocolate flavors woven together by super-rich, velvety tannins
- Built to last, we anticipate beautiful layers to unfold for more than 35 years. This wine will be your go-to “Closer” for special occasions and any other fun nights in general
Description
Winemaker Jay Buoncristiani’s “The Closer” is a one-of-a-kind 2022 Petite Sirah dessert wine sourced from old vines in Calistoga, Napa Valley. Waiting to reach extreme ripeness and optimum levels of concentrated phenolics and flavors, otherwise known as “Late Harvest,” is a key step of many in making a dessert wine such as this. The extended hang time, old vine stress, volcanic soil and the warm climate all combine harmoniously to create Petite Sirah clusters of the highest quality. While these clusters of late-harvested Petite Sirah gems are the backbone of this wine, there is another special component that is used to fortify this black nectar while achieving balance between alcohol and residual sugar. This other component is ultra-premium brandy, distilled by a seventh-generation Cognac master distiller named Hubert Germain~Robin. Hubert hand-distills his Alambic brandies in Mendocino, and his Germain~Robin brandies are some of the best on the planet! The result of marrying these two liquid gems together at just the right time during fermentation has produced an unctuous, inky, ultra ripe, opulent blend with intense black fruit and dark chocolate flavors woven together by super rich velvety tannins. The mouthfeel and finish of this wine lasts for over 60 seconds as it slowly melts away. This puppy is built to last, and will be your go to “Closer” for many years to come! Please note, this wine will be bottled in 375ml bottles only.
Jay Buoncristiani
Winemaker, Buoncristiani Family Winery
Jay attended Santa Clara University in California and received a Bachelor of Science degree in the combined disciplines of Chemistry, Biology and Physics. After graduation in 1996, he returned home to the Napa Valley where intense home winemaking coupled with Enology at The Hess Collection Winery fueled a passion for the art and science of wine.
By 1999, at the young age of 24, Jay started the Buoncristiani Family Winery and vineyard management company with his three brothers while remaining hands-on in the lab, cellar and vineyards at The Hess Collection. From his position as enologist, at age 26, Jay was promoted to winemaker for The Hess Collection Winery, where he remained until the spring of 2005.
From 2005 until present, Jay’s winemaking skills have been directed toward his role as winemaker/owner at Buoncristiani Family Winery and Osso Anna Cellars as well as hands-on consulting winemaker for various labels in the Napa Valley.
Country born: United States
Education: Santa Clara University in California - combined disciplines of Chemistry, Biology, and Physics
Years in the wine industry: 20-30 years
Honors / Awards:
Jay’s wines have earned high regards from the wine industry’s foremost critics, garnering a multitude of wine scores in the 90s and great achievements such as being named “Rising Star of Napa Cabernet” by the Wine Spectator, #25 in the Top 100 wines of the world from Wine Enthusiast, #1 Cabernet Sauvignon from Wine Spectator’s Ten Year Retrospective and a 98-100-point rated wine from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, where Jay’s wine was described as a “legendary effort.”
Winemaking Philosophy:
Jay focuses on obtaining the best fruit possible for each wine program through careful vineyard block selection and precise viticultural practices. He utilizes controlled stress in the vineyard to produce low-yielding, concentrated and balanced fruit full of flavor and varietal expression. Once grapes reach full maturity, his goal is to harness this inherent potential from the vineyard to the bottle through meticulous tracking and blending of each promising component in order to create optimum complexity while retaining balance, varietal character and superior quality.
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