Reviews

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.…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon The Magnificent Seven

The best wine I've ever had. Ever...

Bacio Divino Cabernet Sauvignon Janzen Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

An immediate gratification push of smooth black and red/blue fruit, blackberry, black raspberry, black soil, spice, and some vanilla. A beautiful and finessed version of the site, with an super…

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Teucer Vineyard

Much like the 2014 version of this wine, the 2015 Teucer explodes with dark, rich berry fruit and earth flavors. A full-frontal, velvet glove type of attack, with blackberry, black raspberry, red and…

Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Materium

Specific notes of dark candied black raspberry, black and red cherry, cassis, blackberry, fresh vanilla bean, dark chocolate, and some subtle grey river rock (adding a bit of cut through the…

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

Previous notes from December still apply. A beautiful display of dark fruit flavors, if not lacking just a bit on the concentration side of things. Veers toward a more simple delivery of flavors, but…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Bam! Pow! Clench! Grip! Acid! Fruit! Rock! Spice! ...Like a Wham! Blam! comic strip page getting torn out of a magazine, crumpled up, and thrown in your face. The initial delivery of this wine was…

AJ Pearce Cabernet Sauvignon Massoumi Vineyard

Previous notes apply. This wine is certainly higher registering on the acid and structure spectrums, but has enough flavor (though somewhat restrained and classical in its delivery) to hold interest.…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Black and red currant, black cherry, cedar, dust, and some spice. A hair better than the AO Proprietary Red, but pretty similar in most ways. The mid-palate was a little fuller, but still fairly…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard

Barrel sample. The most low-toned wine in the '16 AO line-up, with dark, black core fruit, fresh black soil, espresso, bitter chocolate, char, clove, fresh vanilla bean, and obsidian. The dark spice…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Thomas Vineyard

Barrel sample. Red and black core fruit, with some soil and spice. Medium-bodied and a little simple, the Thomas was much more subtle and reserved than I had anticipated. I did not get any of the…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

Barrel sample. Black core fruit, with some soil, dust, and spice to add interest. Delivery on this wine was a little flat and Simple Jack, but it still managed to offer pleasure by way of its…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras

Barrel sample. Tight and constricted, this reminded me a little of the 2013 Shafer HSS we had earlier in the day. Not surprisingly, this LPV displayed the blackest, most gravelly properties of the AO…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Barrel sample. Complex and compelling, concentrated and driven, the '16 AO Crane was the star of the lineup. Black and red core fruit, black raspberry, blackberry, black and red licorice, anise,…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Barrel sample. Not atypical of the BTK site, this wine displayed hallmark black core fruit, with black raspberry, blackberry, truffle, soil, char, and spice. Plenty of push mid-palate to move the…

Shafer Firebreak Dessert Wine

Nope. I don't get this thing at all. Serves no purpose. A syrupy simpleton. One wonky note of chocolate-blackberry goofiness. This is why most wineries shouldn't have a desert wine. 79? points.

Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select

Classic meets modern. Tight and coiled-up, like a snake ready to strike. Pretty massive overall, but also displaying an intriguing sophistication that draws one back for another sip. Needs air! Lots…

Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five

The first pour of this wine was flawed, but the staff was nice enough to serve a freshly popped bottle for comparison. The new bottle was not flawed, but it was pretty disjointed and lacking any sort…

Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five

Flawed. Slight vinegar and prune on the nose; some stemmy cedar and old world barnyard Syrah funk on the palate. Flat and tasteless otherwise.

Buoncristiani Cabernet Sauvignon The Core

Enchantingly backward and spring-loaded with massively concentrated flavors of blackberry, black raspberry, black and red licorice, Baker's chocolate, pastille, cassis, and some earthy stone. There…

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Previous notes apply, however I did feel like this was displaying in a way that was less concentrated and unctuous than how I had previously experienced this wine (by Purlieu BTK standards at least).…

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon

Previous notes from September apply, though I will say that I found it to start shutting down after about 30+ minutes of air. Mid-palate started to show a more linear display, with only the attack on…