Wine reviews
The other three barrel samples of the 2015s all emerge from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, and included the cuvées of the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon The Three Kings, 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon The Grand Daddy and the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer to Kalon the O.G. I will have more specific notes on those when they are in bottle, but they were all upper-90-point wines with incredible density, opulence, voluptuous textures, layers of fruit and extract, sweet, succulent tannins, fabulous purity and rather intense and penetrating aromatic fireworks. This is another amazing vintage, as Napa Valley continues to roll on with one great success after another. Most of these 2015s will be delicious young, but probably keep in a cold cellar for at least two decades or more.-RP Mark Carter, who is also making pretty sensational boutique bourbon from Kentucky, continues to showcase great Beckstoffer vineyards with his full-throttle winemaking.
Black cherry, plum, chocolate, mocha, new French oak and spice notes infuse the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard The Three Kings. Deep, unctuous and super-concentrated, the Three Kings captures all of the natural richness of the vintage. Give it a few years in bottle to fully unwind. The Three Kings is the most open of Mark Carter's To Kalon Cabernets. – Antonio Galloni
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon The Three Kings is a little broody at this youthful stage, offering relatively subdued blackberries and black plum notes with earth and truffles suggestions plus cigar box, black pepper and new leather. The palate is a somewhat different story, filling the mouth with exuberant earth, black fruit and spice box layers, supported by plenty of lively acidity and a firm, grainy backbone, finishing long. – LPB
The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard The Three Kings comes from the D Block in the To Kalon Vineyard and is all clone 7 Cabernet Sauvignon. It offers deep, ripe fruit notes of plums and black currants intermixed with exotic spice, graphite and a hint of dried flowers. While this cuvee has a firm edge to its tannin and lacks a touch of the elegance and extra dimensions found in the other top cuvees, it’s another incredibly high-quality wine from Mark Carter that will keep for two decades. – JD