Reviews

Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Blackberry, black cherry, and ripe purple fruit compile the core fruit, with scorched earth, wet cedar, and obsidian framing the general profile. This is displaying a bit of a reduced and macerated…

Scarlett Wines Cabernet Sauvignon

Purple and red fruit. Initially an unassuming and straightforward delivery, but the Scarlett picks up some weight mid-way through and pushes its fruity character on through the medium finish. A much…

Scarlett Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Equally dark as the regular sample, the Reserve fires-off with a serious streak of minerality and a tannic backbone that immediately frame-out and control the electric fruit just waiting to explode.…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Structure and tannins lead the attack here, with some hot-off-the-presses, racy red and black fruit flavors that are pushed rapidly over the palate with significant heft and energy. Stops in time to…

Scarlett Wines Cabernet Sauvignon

Super expressive! This version of Scarlett may be the best rendition of the standard McGah offering yet. Much like the 2015 in its infancy, this 2018 delivers a gushing attack of an array of fruit…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

The standard Myriad Crane offers well-balanced flavors of black cherry yogurt, red and black licorice, and some gravelly earth notes. Faint dirt and soil notes can also be found running around in the…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Not surprisingly, the Crane is similar in most ways to the Elysian in terms of its enticing flavor profile. Black cherry dominates, with some red cherry and licorice; faint earth and spice…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Empyrean Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

Similar to the GIII with its red and black cherry and subtle chocolate-spice, but much more linear and clamped-down in its current state. It has sophistication and the potential stuffing for a…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Pumping out that Dr. Crane black cherry core that ya'll are familiar with, the Elysian falls in-line with the compelling 2015 and 2016 vintages in terms of overall profile and intensity. Earth and…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

Big fruit upfront, with a redder profile than the more gothic-hot-tattoo-chick 2018 GIII. The 2017 shows some of its traditional black cherry and earthy notes, but to a lesser degree when compared to…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Steltzner Vineyard

A tight and fuzzy frame surrounds a pulsating core of blackberry, black cherry, black rock, and bitter chocolate. Behaving almost like a Las Piedras on an Arnold Pumping Iron horse juice regimen of…

Becklyn Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Pangkarra Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper

Ah, the "Supa Hoppa!"... As expected, this is the super-duper-uber Becklyn Missouri Hopper 2.0, and it shows accordingly. Take everything you know about the Hopper, add more wet soil, more roast…

B Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Star Vineyard

Uber plush and fruity, with black cherry syrup surrounded by cinnamon and nutmeg spices washing over the palate in a round, plump delivery. Finishes with the sweet spice note swirling around the…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

A huge step up from when I last had this wine almost two years ago, this vintage of the VV LPV has really come into a wonderful drinking window with a little help from a couple of hours in the trusty…

Addax Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

The booze has certainly integrated a bit better here, but the flavors have become more plush and round. Good in some senses, but missing grip when compared to the gobs of blackberry fruit. A flavor…

Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Black currant, cedar, wood dust, blackberry, and some black cherry. Grippy and youthful, with a medium-bodied profile and medium finish. Simple in terms of fruit flavor expansion, but controlled and…

Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

It's been nearly a year since my last bottle. Similar to Badmonkey's experience, this seemed to struggle to fully come around. After a decent amount of babying and trying to give it air (which warmed…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fortuna Vineyard

Coravin pour. Crunchy blackberry seed, black and red currant, river rock, purple plum skin, and gravel. Great tension; a bit grippy, but straddles a nice line between balance and speed. Could still…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Almost identical in profile to the Three Kings, but with more plush and somewhat rotund ripe fruit, the Grand Daddy was the most unresolved of the To Kalon offerings. True to its usual form, the…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Black cherry liqueur and licorice rule the roost here, with a kirshwasser note that ramped it up to a higher register profile, especially on the finish. The delivery was party-ready, but certainly…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Black cherry, saccharine, bitter chocolate, fresh red and black licorice, and black rock steamroll onto the palate and deliver whopping gobs of fruit on the frontloaded attack. A bit overwhelming,…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Bam Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Much like the Fortuna, but indeed richer and more intense mid-palate, the Bam karate kicks out a "Kiai!" ("Hi-yah" for the uninitiated) of red and black cherry fruit that thrusts across the palate…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fortuna Vineyard

A pop of dark cherry fruit on the front end, with a higher register blast of bing cherry and alcohol rushing across the palate. Especially unresolved on the finish at this given juncture, the Fortuna…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Black currant and earthy minerality here on the front end of the attack. Deeply pitched black.very black.cherry, and some chocolate, pyrazine, and anise. Green peppercorn and black rock show up as…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

A really beautiful showing, with so much youth and vibrancy coming out of this wine despite its dark, black, gothic profile overall. Earthy rock and signature LPV minerality dominates over the core…