Wine reviews

June 2011

Both of these wines performed even better than they did when I tasted them from bottle eight years ago. More mature and evolved (or maybe it just has more to it), the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard tastes like a great vintage of Pontet-Canet or Mouton Rothschild. This profound Napa Cabernet Sauvignon reveals gorgeous notes of crème de cassis, a celestial floral and espresso character, an inky/purple color, a dense full-bodied mouthfeel and hints of wood smoke and a volcanic/burning ember note. Quite intense with a prodigious mouthfeel and a nearly 60-second finish, this wine can be drunk now or cellared for another quarter of a century. Bravo!