Reviews

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon BBS Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Signature notes of dark, black core fruit: blackberry, blueberry, black raspberry, dark black plum, burnt embers, earth, coffee grounds, anise, black rock, and violets. This wine has an extremely…

Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard

A stunning and utterly classy bottle of wine, with a sophisticated rolling thunder attack of exquisite red and black currant, black cherry, dark plum, earth, coffee grounds, tobacco, aged leather,…

Arrow & Branch Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

This is starting to come around nicely, especially since I had it two years ago. Not as coiled up and standoff-ish as my previous encounter. Black and blue core fruit, blueberry, blackberry, black…

Arrow & Branch Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label

A medium-bodied, black fruit driven animal, with a decent amount of drive for such a seemingly dark wine. Blackberry, black soil/earth, bitter chocolate, black currant, cedar, and dark spice. Quite a…

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon

Barrel sample. This is the flagship blend from Crane, LPV, Weitz, and Oakville. Sporting a gorgeous mouthfeel, with the perfect balance of concentration and weight distribution on the palate, this…

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Barrel sample. Explosive notes of blackberry, blueberry, dark soil/earth, black cherry syrup, baking spices, crushed flowers, and wet cedar. Some subtle chocolate notes on the back end. Much more…

B Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Barrel sample. Blasts of dark and jammy black core fruit, spice, and earth. Chewy tannins, with a boozy, jammy attack that washes over the palate like a Mavericks crashing wave of wild, soil-driven…

B Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard

Barrel sample. Gobs of Bootsy Collins funkafied fruit, interwoven with a meaty, gamey core of blackberry cobbler, blackberry and raspberry liqueur, cherry syrup, absinthe salami, smoked BBQ ribs,…

B Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Barrel sample. Of course the wine that was likely my top favorite in the whole B Cellars lineup has to be the blue-footed unicorn that is impossible to acquire...this '16 LPV was simply stunning.…

B Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Barrel sample. A slap-yo-mama-silly kinda wine that hits the palate from every angle imaginable. A total stunner, with notes of blackberry, black raspberry liqueur, Amarena cherry syrup, deep cassis,…

B Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena

"Actually quite good," was the first entry into my notes on this wine. As Cristal2000 mentioned, this was a nice surprise. As soon as our host mentioned it was Lewelling Vineyard, I instantly became…

Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Materium

We killed another .375 to see if it would perform any different than the previous night. It was a bit of a futile effort, as the Vice Versa wines dominated and wouldn't let any other wine stand in…

B Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Ehrlich Vineyard

Definitely a tick or two more advanced than the Blend 26 tasted just before it, the Ehrlich displayed some nice black and blue/red core fruit that held up through the mid-palate and into the finish.…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Beautiful and elegant in its display of flavors, the '15 VV "standard" Crane brought a bit of romance to the party. Sexy and seductive notes of black, dark red core fruit. Blackberry, boysenberry,…

B Cellars Blend 26

An easy, simple ground-pounder when you're looking for something to pair with ribs and BBQ beans. Nothing too intellectual here, and a little out of place amongst the behemoth Beckstoffer wines. Some…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon BBS Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

I remember when a 4.0 GPA actually meant a perfect "straight A" average. Now there's 4.5s, 4.8s, and even 5.0 GPAs?! A perfect of the perfect of the perfect?! Whatever a kid has to do to get into…

B Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

This reminded me of a more regal version of a 2014 Myriad GIII, almost what I'd imagine the Empyrean to be like if Mike Smith produced a 2014 bottling of it. Finessed, elegant, but still pumping…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Previous notes apply. This Elysian is a textural, silky dream, with wonderful purity of fruit and a finish that really provides a long-distance running feel on the back end. What a glide! Black, red,…

B Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

For a wine that was just bottled a week ago, this showed a nice sophistication and beautiful, seamless delivery of flavor across the palate. Deep, but not exceptionally so just yet, this BTK had a…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Previous notes apply. This showed a little bit of a crunchier, rustic side when compared to some of the other wines at the table. Still wonderfully giving in the fruit department, and super powerful,…

Bacio Divino Cabernet Sauvignon Janzen Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Barrel Sample from a Taransaud T5 barrique. An absolute bad a** example of the BTK site. Tons of power and concentration, but with a textural superiority that seldom graces such bombastic fruit…

Realm Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

A generous delivery of black and blue core fruit. Blackberry, blueberry, ripe red raspberry, fresh vanilla bean, dark (rich) chocolate, baking spice, and some scorched earth. Less of the floral…

Bacio Divino Cabernet Sauvignon Janzen Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard

Barrel sample. Not surprisingly, this 2016 is essentially the 2014 MH on steroids...like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando type of steroids. Big and rich, with hefty doses of black, purple, and blue…

The Debate Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Well damn, this all but sucked a big bag of dirty diapers...An unfortunate disappointment among other wines at the table. To be fair, it wasn't a "bad" wine necessarily, but given its pedigree, it…

Bacio Divino Cabernet Sauvignon Janzen Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard

Gobs of ripe black raspberry, blueberry, sweet cassis, Baker's chocolate, gray slate, river rock, soil, and spice flavors. Just a hair too much of a good thing in the rich and ripe fruit department.…