Wine reviews

December 2023

A rare bird of a wine, the 2021 Petit Verdot Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is all varietal and was raised in 100% new French oak. It boasts a saturated purple hue as well as beautiful blue fruits, graphite, and dark chocolate-driven aromatics and flavors. It shows the more structured style of the variety on the palate, with medium to full-bodied richness and focused, ripe tannins giving the wines a notable structural framework. Everything stays nicely balanced, it has the vintage's purity and focus, and it shows tons of potential, although it's mostly educational at this point. Hide bottles for 4-6 years if you can, and I suspect it will evolve for 15-20 years. I would certainly be thrilled to taste this wine in a decade! – JD