Wine reviews
Sourced from the iconic Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard, this B. Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon was aged for 28 months in 100% Taransaud and Darnajou barrels and fermented in open-top barrels with punch-downs one to three times daily for several weeks. This is the band you want to hate, but you cannot because it rocks so hard. Speaking of rocks, the wine boasts gravelly graphite minerality with espresso bean nuances and ultra-pure dark black fruit on the palate, framed by rich chocolaty oak spices and dangerously powerful tannins that build with kinetic energy through the fragrant, violet-scented finish. This vintage marks the 20th harvest for B. Cellars from the Beckstoffer Heritage site.
The 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard sports a saturated purple hue and offers a blockbuster-styled array of red, blue, and black fruits as well as scorched earth, graphite, gravel, and roasted herbs. Aged 26 months in 100% new French oak, it’s a powerful, full-bodied, structured wine from this terroir that has plenty of underlying tannins, the purity and freshness of the vintage, and a great finish. It’s going to benefit from a few years of bottle age.
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard needs a little swirling before it releases a powerful perfume of crème de cassis, plum preserves, and candied violets, giving way to nuances of dark chocolate, crushed rocks, and anise. The full-bodied palate is densely laden with perfumed black fruit preserves layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins and great tension, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note.