Wine reviews
One of the more distinctive wines in the lineup is the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. From a famous site in Oakville, it offers a much more spice-filled, perfumed, complex style than the Las Piedras Vineyard, has a full-bodied, opulent, yet weightless texture, sweet tannin and a great, great finish. This tour de force in Napa Cabernet has no hard edges, gorgeous aromas of crème de cassis, white chocolate, Asian spice and dried flowers, polished tannin, and perfect balance, all suggesting it’s going to keep for 2-3 decades. - JD
This goes for succulence and richness, a supple heavyweight of a wine. The fruit is red and floral, the tannins muscular when they’re not being driven by the chocolate intensity of oak. There’s substantial sweetness here, as well as salty mineral savor—a contemporary Napa Valley luxury wine. – JG
Slowly unwinds from a taut core of blackberry and wild berry flavors to ease into a more agreeable show of fruit and texture. There's no denying the strength of the tannins and the structure, yet the fine flavors promise to reward with time. Best from 2020 through 2024. 550 cases made. –JL
Not surprisingly, another killer effort is the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard from Oakville. It is a more spicy, less earthy and mineral-laced wine than the Missouri Hopper, but it has profound richness, oodles of crème de cassis and blackberry fruit intermixed with barbecue smoke, Christmas fruitcake and cedar. It is opaque purple, full-bodied and ideal for drinking over the next 25-30 years.- RP