Wine reviews

December 2023

One of the truly great wines in the vintage is the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard, which comes from a Grand Cru vineyard on the west side of St. Helena and is all Clone 6 Cabernet Sauvignon. Reminding me of a great vintage of La Mission Haut-Brion (perhaps on steroids) with its incredible bouquet of blackcurrants, scorched earth, cold fireplace, chocolate, and smoked tobacco, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness and a layered, seamless, majestic style marrying incredible depth, richness, and opulence with a seamlessness and elegance that are hard to describe. Perfectly ripe and balanced, with plenty of structure, give bottles 4-6 years if you can, and enjoy over the following 2-3 decades.