Wine reviews
From the famous Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon is another relatively hefty wine at 15.1%. It is very backward for a 2014, and in many ways, just as tannic and structured as its 2013 counterpart. Dense black currant fruit intermixed with hints of camphor, blackberry and unsmoked cigar tobacco are present in this wine, which is not really a blockbuster, but rather an elegant take on the To Kalon Vineyard. Give it 3-4 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 25 years. - RP Like the wines themselves, larger-than-life Frenchman Jean Hoefliger is the winemaking consultant behind the small quantities of The Debate, where he has partnered with Rob McKay. After the incredibly successful 2013s, Hoefliger has followed up with equally fine 2014s, which are nearly as concentrated as the 2013s, slightly less structured, but for most consumers, more delicious and fruit forward, although several of these wines would certainly merit some bottle age to shed tannin. These are very impressive wines from consultant Jean Hoefliger and his partner, Rob McKay.
The most sexy and upfront, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon offers a huge nose of black raspberries, plums, Asian spices, sandalwood and incense. Ripe, open knit, and voluptuous, with full-bodied richness, ripe tannin and a boatload of extract and texture, this sensational beauty will benefit from short-term cellaring (although don’t feel bad for drinking bottles today) and keep for two decades. – JD