Beringer Private Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 (750ml)

 

Rated 98 Points by James Suckling

 

This shows really beautiful purity of fruit with polish and sophistication.  The currant and cassis aromas are so enticing and really reflect the name of the wine.  Medium to full body.  Extremely fine tannins.  Shows a level of freshness and agility that caresses the palate.  Delicate and beautiful.  Mostly Howell Mountain.  Drink or hold.

 

Rated 96 Points by Jeb Dunnuck

 

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is brilliant, with a ripe, powerful style that’s going to age gracefully.  Deep blackcurrants, dark chocolate, scorched earth, and graphite notes all emerge from this concentrated, powerful Cabernet that has ripe tannins, a big, rich mid-palate, and a great finish.  It’s going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and keep for upwards of two decades with no issues.

 

Rated 95 Points by Wine Enthusiast

 

Thick and concentrated in dense layers of cedar, pencil shaving and currant, this reserve-worthy wine is substantial in body weight and power, with considerable oak impact, as it was aged 20 months in 80% new French oak.  Still, it shows remarkable underlying beauty, complexity and structure.  It is a blockbuster that will do well in the cellar.  Enjoy best from 2027 through 2037.

 

Rated 94 Points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 

Composed of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve springs from the glass with notions of red and black currant jelly, baker's chocolate, menthol and spice cake plus hints of violets, cedar and kirsch in the undercurrent.  Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals a firm, finely grained texture with tons of freshness backing up the generous fruit, finishing long and perfumed.

 

Rated 92 Points by Wine Spectator

 

Plush and forward, with creamed plum and blackberry puree flavors, carried by cocoa and warm loam notes.  Everything knits nicely through the finish.  A crowd-pleaser style.  Drink now through 2029

 

Rated 91 Points by Wine & Spirits

 

An elegant vintage of Private Reserve, this is nearly two-thirds from Howell Mountain, specifically the iron-rich red soils of Steinhauer Ranch and the white volcanic tuff of Bancroft; another quarter of the blend comes from St. Helena (Beringer’s Home Vineyard and Chabot).  The wine is tight and green at first, needing air to gain and lengthen its fruit scents of black cherries and blackberry seeds.  Tense and floral, with subdued ripeness, this should age well.

 

Beringer Private Reserve Napa Valley

 

Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

 

“Beringer's Private Reserve has always been one of my favorite California Cabernets.”  Robert Parker

 

A deeply colored and rich wine with substantial backbone and structure will make this 2017 vintage continue to reward after years of careful cellaring.  With bright notes of black currant and blackberries and a lush, juicy mouthfeel, this wine is also very approachable in its youth.  Complex layers of black fruit and notes of cocoa powder, graphite and light smoky oak mingle well with notes of espresso and vanilla.  The ripe tannins support a full structure with balanced acidity leaving a lingering, elegant finish.

 

Alcohol:  15.5%

 

Varietal:  Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Composition:  96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot

 

Appellation:  62% Howell Mountain, 24% St. Helena, 6% Oakville, 5% Spring Mountain, 2% Diamond Mountain, 1% Mount Veeder

 

Winemaking

 

The Beringer reserve vineyards offer Cabernet Sauvignon of such quality that a minimalist approach to winemaking has long defined this special blend.  Each vineyard is vinified separately and monitored carefully from the moment the fruit comes into the winery at Harvest.  Tailored pump-over techniques are used for optimal extraction, and the wine is aged in hand-selected, custom-toasted barrels of new French oak (80% new).  Each lot was aged for 20 months before selection of the final blend, to allow each vineyard to express the depth of its unique terroir.

 

Vintage

 

The year began with abundant rainfall, followed by a mild Spring.  A Labor Day weekend heatwave kicked harvest into high gear followed by a cool weather break which allowed sugar levels to return to optimum normal level.  By October nearly 90 percent of our grapes were harvested when fierce winds fueled the 2017 firestorm.  Napa Valley's winemakers remain committed to making some the world's finest wines and early articles about the 2017 vintage describe the wines with words such as "finesse," "great complexity of flavor," and "elegant.

 

Vineyards

 

Steinhauer Ranch (24%), Bancroft Ranch (21%), Pauli (12%) and Marc Mondavi Ranch (5%) vineyards atop Howell Mountain provide the foundation for the 2017 blend.  Fruit from the St. Helena Home Vineyard (15%) and Chabot Vineyard (9%) add the warmth of the St. Helena appellation.  Exceptional fruit from Oakville’s Borrow Pit Vineyard (6%) join contributions from Spring Mountain’s Marston Vineyard (5%), Diamond Mountain’s Armstrong Ranch (2%) and Mount Veeder’s Derr Family Vineyard (1%).  Grapes for the 2017 Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon were harvested between September 15th and October 24th.

 

 

Beringer Vineyards

 

No winery more thoroughly embodies the timeless appeal and seductive flavor of Napa Valley than Beringer Vineyards, Napa’s benchmark producer since its establishment in 1876.

 

As Napa's oldest continuously operating winery, Beringer is an American wine icon built on 140 years of winemaking tradition.

 

Beringer Vineyards is an icon of Napa Valley, first making its mark on the region in 1876 when brothers Jacob and Frederick Beringer purchased 215 acres of land in the heart of St. Helena.

 

Seven years later, the pair built the Rhine House, a magnificent Victorian mansion modeled after the family's German home, which operated as the estate's headquarters.  By the beginning of the 20th century, Beringer Vineyards established itself as a powerhouse in the region, managing to avoid Prohibition through a special, federal license.

 

Close to the end of the century, Beringer gained widespread acclaim, becoming the first and only winery to have both a red and white wine named Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year. 

 

The Private Reserve Label, in particular, has become a treasure for its refined, age-worthy expressions of Napa and Sonoma Cabernet. 

 

 

Rated 95 Points by Wine Enthusiast

 

Thick and concentrated in dense layers of cedar, pencil shaving and currant, this reserve-worthy wine is substantial in body weight and power, with considerable oak impact, as it was aged 20 months in 80% new French oak.  Still, it shows remarkable underlying beauty, complexity and structure.  It is a blockbuster that will do well in the cellar.  Enjoy best from 2027 through 2037.

 

 

 

Rated 92 Points by Wine Spectator

 

Plush and forward, with creamed plum and blackberry puree flavors, carried by cocoa and warm loam notes.  Everything knits nicely through the finish.  A crowd-pleaser style.  Drink now through 2029