Reviews

Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon CCS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

2017 Schrader RBS and CCS side-by-side.

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Gorgeous depth of flavor, with succulent dark berry fruit coating the palate as it drops into a deep mid-glide and opens up even further and more opulent on the finish. Maintains focus throughout,…

Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Materium

From .375ml. This took some time to get out of its gobs-o-fruit lush and fruity mode. It has shed a bit of its trampy overt liqueur side (which is a good thing), but it stayed in black cherry and…

Morlet Family Vineyards Cabernet Franc Force de la Nature

From Oakville, this sample was opened yesterday (which seemed to show a little bit of its evolution in terms of frame over flavor at this point). Nevertheless, red and black cherry fruit show good…

Morlet Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Cour de Vallée

Fuller and richer than the Mon Chevalier and Passionnment, this suave debutante impresses for its plush black cherry liqueur core that gratifies the palate from stem to stern. Notably balanced with…

Morlet Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Passionnément

The spice trade is alive and well in the 2012 Passionnement, with all sorts of Indian spices and black pepper swarming around the black raspberry and black cherry core. Finishes dry (not as dry as…

Becklyn Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper

Massive chocolatey and meaty fruit on the attack, with sweet gobs of black and red raspberry, cassis, licorice, and charcuterie on the front end. Quite the bitter bite on the tail at the moment.

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2015 was similar to the 2013 in many ways, except that the 2015 took a bit longer to shed some of its frame and allow the fruit to come forward. It was highly mineral-driven and the least…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

The most inviting and "palate-compelling" right now, the 2014 Macdonald showed wonderfully expressive dark, black fruit, with some violets and asphalt adding to the profile. Surprisingly silky,…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

100 points ALL DAY LONG. You want a To Kalon that can stand the test of time, this dude right here is the one to put your money on. The most gorgeous monster ever, wrapped up in a tight, super grippy…

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch

A gorgeous array of fruit flavors pop out of this wine like Jenna Jameson in a twenty-layered whipped cream birthday cake. Purple, blue, black, red.all just gushing out all over the palate. And just…

Arrow & Branch Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch

An initial horizontal attack of primary black cherry and cassis flavors made for a youthfully primary delivery on the front end. With air, blackberry and black raspberry liqueur, blackberry seed,…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Rich, chewy, perfumed, and about as exciting as they come, the 2016 Macdonald is a shake your money maker kind of experience, grabbing a hold the palate and unloading gobs of dark, black fruit;…

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…

Becklyn Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper

Creosote, blackberry, damp black earth, fresh turned soil, and some charcuterie notes cut in line before the frame eventually catches up with its semi-sweet, rich tannins. A bit of an onslaught on…

Bevan Cellars EE Cuvée

Decant for a few hours and you will be handsomely rewarded. PnP is, as with many of Bevan's concoctions, a bit of a slutty alcohol laced liqueur experience. However, once some good old fashioned O2…

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…

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch

Barrel sample. Electric purple fruit, blackberry, black cherry, black licorice, garrigue/underbrush, and some earthy stems. The Vine Hill is a much more expressive and zippy sample when compared to…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The G.T.O Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Composed and alluringly poised when mirrored to its 2017 counterparts, the GTO lets you know it is showing up to the ball with a touch of class. Less concentrated and intense than the OG, but…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

On first sip, this OG was a sweeter and riper version of the barrel sample I had before. Rich black cherry starts off the race on the front end, pulsating out additional flavors of cassis, fresh…

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 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…

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper

A surprising come-around with this wine since I last had it. Much more balanced and seamless this time, and not too Syrah-gamey or Cornas-esque (as MH can sometimes come off to me).

Nickel & Nickel Cabernet Sauvignon John C. Sullenger Vineyard

Though fairly tight and somewhat constricted, this was probably the best in the lineup from this producer. Notes of black and red cherry, vanilla, black raspberry, cedar, red and black currant, and…