Reviews

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…

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…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Much of the same from my last experience with this wine from last year. A more enhanced complexity brought about by a more deliberate delineation of flavors during delivery made for a truly elevated…

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…

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Barrel sample. The first sip of this barrel sample immediately commands respect and careful attention. Blackberry, black cherry, plum, char, and faint violets. A very refined and focused Crane in its…

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…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo

So this wine didn't suck at all. A massive wall of tannins and grip formed an outrageous skyscraper of scaffolding for the pitch-black fruit core. Shockingly, the immensity of the structure didn't…

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…

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…

Vangone Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Barrel sample. Chocolate, rich black soil, black licorice, bitter Baker's chocolate, and a fat, healthy dollop of bad-assness. I LOVE the earthy qualities of this wine, which really make to elevate…

Stewart Cabernet Sauvignon Nomad Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Like the Alpha Omega, this wandered around the palate with some misdirection and competing crunchy earth versus bitter currant notes. Registered a little high and alcohol-flat on the mid-palate.…

Arkenstone Cabernet Sauvignon NVD

Black cherry and black and red currant encircled by a subtle zing of strawberry give way to a medium-bodied attack that offers supple delivery of flavor. Draws thinner as it approaches the…

Arrow & Branch Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

The black cherry liqueur thing was jumping off crazy on this wine at first pull, but then it dropped into a more earthy, almost grainy animal, with some crunchy rock and soil notes encircling the…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Weitz Vineyard

Similar to how it behaved in barrel, the Weitz is sporting a super fruity profile of uber-ripe cherry syrup, cassis, char, and candied raspberry. Unresolved in its delivery and seemingly searching…

B Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Black cherry liqueur, initially tasting a bit like the Elysian, but with a little more swanky red cherry tones. Round and somewhat boozy; the most plush of the lineup. Finished a little chewy…

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,…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Black cherry and red cherry cassis; not as dark or as concentrated as the Memento Mori served directly beside it. Rode higher in its tonal expressions, with some booze and glycol on the back end. A…

Arkenstone Sauvignon Blanc

Green apple, guava, yellow and green citrus rind, and subtle grass. The Arkenstone impresses for its flavor-push of tasty intensity and drive, while all the while maintaining a sense of direction and…

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…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon BBS Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Keenly focused and pure blackberry, black cherry, black river rock, and bitter dark chocolate notes fired-off in deliberate succession on the front end of the attack. A more serious wine when…

Buoncristiani Cabernet Sauvignon The Core

Ripe blackberry preserves, with some dark soil and chocolate picking up the rear of the delivery and saving it from becoming an absolute, singular implosion of ripe black fruit. Much more rich and…

Bevan Cellars Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard

So smooth and silky at this stage of the game. Give this a go if you have a few bottles. It'll last for a number of years for sure, but there's really no need to delay gratification. It was a little…

Staglin Family Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Wonderful black currant and crunchy blackberry notes, with a bit of a hardened minerality streak that kept the delivery fairly linear and somewhat primary. There is definitely sophistication and…

Greer Cabernet Sauvignon Greer Vineyard

This rendition of Greer carries the signature Pott black cherry compote and pummeled ripe strawberry core, with some nice dust and cassis notes to balance it all out. More focused and framed-out than…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Steltzner Vineyard

Still as awesome as last year. Perhaps, dare I say, gaining some refinement since my last sample in the Fall. The latter half of my previous notes apply (a la the John Stamos reference), with the…