Wine reviews
The closest to full maturity and farthest along in its evolution appears to be the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To- Kalon Vineyard. Notes of pen ink, creosote, tar, black currants and Christmas fruitcake jump from the glass of this dense ruby/purple-colored effort, which is showing less color saturation than its three siblings. Fullbodied and ripe with soft tannins, good freshness and liveliness, there is no reason to defer your gratification. It is an intense, mouthfilling, terrific, young Cabernet Sauvignon that should continue to drink well for 10-15 years. These wines represent an obsessive-compulsive intellectual study of the effect of different Cabernet Sauvignon clones in a single vineyard, in this case, the great Beckstoffer To-Kalon site in Oakville. Made by Thomas Brown for Fred (Old Sparky) and Carol Schrader, these wines are all stunning. At age ten, they are just beginning to reveal some nuances and differences illustrated by this clonal exercise. -RP