Wine reviews
Extremely tight and backward, dry, herbal and savory, with complex, concentrated sage, dill and dried currant flavors. Full-bodied and intense, ending with black licorice-laced, mouthcoating tannins. A youngster in need of cellaring. Best from 2012 through 2019. 190 cases made. -- J. L
A fresh, clean take on Andy Beckstoffer's sector of the To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville, this is spot-on varietal cabernet with pure black currant clarity. The tannins are firm, without being polished into neutrality, and the structure gracious, ready to hold the wine for a decade or more. (193 cases) Carter Cellars, Napa, CA
Even more backward is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. Its inky/blue/purple color is accompanied by a tight, but promising aromatic display of spring flowers, licorice, new oak, and blue and black fruits. The wine is dense and full-bodied as well as extremely high in tannin and extract. Forget it for 7-8 years and drink it over the following three decades.
This is an extraordinarily rich and rewarding Cabernet to drink now. Drenched in all new French oak, it's elaborate in spicy, charred wood and vanillins, but the underlying wine easily supports that weight. It's flamboyant in blackberries, cherries, chocolate, red licorice and cola. The alcohol seems high, but that's in the modern style, and there;'s no denying the sheer lusciousness. -- S. H.