Wine reviews
From another site in Oakville, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard is a big, rich, concentrated beauty that needs short-term cellaring. With tons of black raspberry and blueberry fruit, forest floor, tobacco and Asian spice, it has full-bodied richness, an ethereal, elegant, soft texture, sweet tannin, moderate acidity and a great finish. This is a gorgeous, even sensational, Napa Cabernet to drink anytime over the coming two decades. - JD
Jean Hoefliger, the Swiss-born winemaker at Alpha Omega, ferments his red wines long and slow in barrels without added yeast. With extended maceration on the skins, this developed luscious fruit and lively tannins; together they sustain a bracing freshness. There’s nothing exaggerated about this wine; rather, there’s a sense of precision to its spicy finish, lasting on notes of cumin and cardamom to balance the fruit sweetness. Elegant and delicious. – JG
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard is fabulous, with notes of blueberry interwoven with wet stones and scorched earth, giving it a somewhat Graves-like Bordeaux character. It hits the palate with thunderous, rich blueberry and blackberry fruit, some incense and camphor, and finishes with light but silky tannin. This is a big wine, one of the larger-scaled Cabernet Sauvignons in Alpha Omega’s 2014 portfolio, as well as one of my favorites. Anticipated maturity: now - 2035. -RP This winery has clearly come on strong over the last 5 to 6 years, with French Alsatian winemaker Jean Hoefliger running the winemaking show, backed up by some guru assistance from the famous Michel Rolland.