Wine reviews
Rich and plush, with a cocoa note out front, followed quickly by a rush of steeped blackberry, black currant and fig fruit flavors. The finish is streaked with loam, charcoal and smoldering tobacco, while the fruit pumps on through. Muscular. Best from 2023 through 2035. 174 cases made. – JM
Sporting an opaque purple-black color, the 2018 Lithology Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras opens with tantalizing notes of redcurrant jelly, kirsch, blackcurrant pastilles and violets, plus touches of garrigue and fallen leaves. The full-bodied palate has compelling poise and energy, featuring finely grained tannins and bags of freshness to support the red and black fruit layers, finishing long and earthy. – LPB
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Lithology Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard comes from a world-class site outside of St. Helena and is all Cabernet that spent 20 months in 80% new oak. It offers a touch more red fruit as well ample cassis, spring flowers, loamy earth, and spice-like aromas and flavors. It has a wonderful sense of minerality, ultrafine tannins, a dense, layered texture, and incredibly purity of fruit. It’s another just about off the charts release from this estate. – JD
Grapes for the 2018 Lithology Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras were picked October 4. It's made entirely of Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 76% new French oak. A barrel sample, it has a deep purple-black color and delivers exuberant crushed blueberries, black and red cherries and black raspberries notes with rose hips, oolong tea and underbrush plus a waft of tapenade. The palate is medium-bodied, elegant and structured with firm tannins and a long, savory finish. – LPB