2016 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

2016 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

BERINGER

2016 PRIVATE RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 

2016 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
The remarkable vineyards combined to form Beringer’s flagship Private Reserve Cabernet are so expressive and profound that the winemaking team can take a minimalist approach to production, allowing these incredible vines to shine. The wine is, at its core, a blend of Pauli, Steinhauer, and Bancroft Ranch vineyards atop Howell Mountain, providing the unmatched power, enormous structure, and richness of the wine. They completed it with fruit from Oakville, St Helena, Spring Mountain, and Mount Veeder, which round out the stunningly complex blend. 
 
Mark Beringer not only vinifies each renowned site individually, but he also ages them separately for a full 20 months before making the barrel selection. He does this to allow each vineyard to express the depth of its unique terroir fully.
 
Beringer is California’s oldest continually operating winery, and they’re the only winery in history to have both a red and white wine honored as the #1 wine on the Wine Spectator Top 100. The 2016 release is as James Suckling writes, “Breathtaking” and worthy of the 99 point score.
 
BERINGER
2016 PRIVATE RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Retails at: $170
 
Your Price: $150
 
 
“Breathtaking. Exceptional integration of super ripe blackberries and the very finest oak. The tannins build up beautifully, forming wave upon wave as the wine flows across the palate. Then the wave breaks on your palate and shoots way out at the finish, so that you wonder where it will end and normal life begin again. Needs time to soften, but this is so, so good…”
99 Points
 
“… the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve shows the vintage beautifully and is more pure, classic, and elegant. Notes of crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and freshly crushed rocks give way to a medium to full-bodied, seamless Cabernet that has remarkable purity of fruit and impeccable balance…”
97+ Points
 
“… the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve sings of crème de cassis, kirsch, blackberry preserves and blueberry pie, with loads of chocolate box, floral and baking spices hints. Full-bodied with a firm, chewy frame and loads of savory accents, it delivers a long, multilayered finish…”
95 Points
2016 Leto Cellars Exceptional Selection Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena

2016 Leto Cellars Exceptional Selection Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena Napa Valley

LETO CELLARS

EXCEPTIONAL SELECTION
2016 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
ST HELENA, NAPA VALLEY

2016 Leto Cellars Exceptional Selection Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena
The pinnacle wine produced by Leto Cellars is their Exceptional Selection Cabernet Sauvignon, and it accurately lives up to its name. The wine is exceptional in terms of extract, power, and finesse. The only problem is with 72 cases produced, very few will get to experience this exceptional effort. 
 
The Exceptional Selection is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon drawn from a micro-block of half-century-old vines in the heart of St Helena. The low-yielding, dry-farmed vines have deep root systems that provide a vivid portrayal of their unique terroir, which delivers with powerful intensity, grace, and balance.  
 
After developing for 21 months in oak, the wine has enticing aromas of rich black fruits, roasted espresso, dark chocolate, and rocky minerals. With 3 barrels made and a savings of nearly $50/btl, I wouldn’t hesitate to secure a case.
 
LETO CELLARS
EXCEPTIONAL SELECTION
2016 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
ST HELENA, NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $125
 
 
 
“The precisely shaped and exquisitely balanced Leto Exceptional Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 begins with an elegant nose filled with black plums, black currants, smooth blue fruits, baking spices, rose petals and sweet vanilla oak. There is a seamless combination of freshly crushed mountain blackberries, kirsch, and light tobacco notes on the palate. The finish is focused, penetrating, balanced, and long, making this wine a truly exceptional selection.”
94 Points
2017 Heitz Cellar Chardonnay Napa Valley

2017 Heitz Cellar Chardonnay Napa Valley

HEITZ CELLAR

2017 CHARDONNAY
NAPA VALLEY

2017 Heitz Cellar Chardonnay Napa Valley
Heitz Cellar crafts their Napa Valley Chardonnay in a clean and refreshing style that highlights the fruit’s purest expression. They’ve been perfecting their craft for nearly 60 years, and back in the 60s and 70s, they labeled their Chardonnay “Chablis.” In the 80s, they began bottling single-vineyard Chardonnays from Trailside and Heitz Vineyard. Their 2017 is a timeless classic that harkens to the old days of Napa Chardonnay with delicate details and outstanding balance. 
 
The 2017 release combines fruit from Oak Knoll, Rutherford, St Helena, and Yountville. It highlights the rich, ripe fruit characteristics of the warmer climates up-valley and balances them with the structure and acid from the cooler Oak Knoll District. 
 
Aged for an impressive three years in a combination of stainless steel, French oak, and in the bottle before release, the 2017 vintage is fresh and lively, offering vivid island fruits, Meyer lemon, toasted hazelnut, and Key lime. I strongly recommend a case of this classic Napa Chardonnay for your cellar.
 
HEITZ CELLAR
2017 CHARDONNAY
NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $38
 
Your Price: $35
 
“This is one of the last bastions of Napa Chardonnay that retains the ethos of winemaking from the 1970s and ’80s. A blend of mainly Rutherford and Oak Knoll fruit, it undergoes no malolactic fermentation and is aged for 12 months in French oak barrels. Aromas of lemon meringue, key limes and orchard fruit blossoms lead to an angular, focused and pure palate. An authentic example of a past time. Drinking Window 2020 – 2035”
92 Points
 
“The Palate expresses hints of Meyer lemon, pineapple, and freshly baked sweet apple tarts. The fresh fruit aroma is complemented by subtle notes of toasted hazelnut, honey suckle, and white floral characteristics. Its fresh, bright acidity pleases the palate while balanced by a smooth richness that we obtain through sur-lie aging.”
2017 Calculated Risk Barrel Selection Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2017 Calculated Risk Barrel Selection Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

CALCULATED RISK

BARREL SELECTION
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2017 NAPA VALLEY

2017 Calculated Risk Barrel Selection Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Adding up the reasons why Calculated Risk offers such an extraordinary value, and the summation will point to fruit source, winemaking, and price. The fruit quality multiplies with their vast selection of premium vineyards under their brands Heir Apparent and Grand Napa Vineyards, and the winemaking gets huge scores from top publications like James Suckling and Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, that have featured all three brands with high ratings. It doesn’t take a calculus degree to see the no risk value in this Calculated Risk… 
 
The winemaking team selected fruit from Coombsville and St. Helena AVA’s to craft a powerful, penetrating, and balanced wine. The wine perfectly fuses the elegance and restrained power of Coombsville, with St. Helena structure and depth.
 
The 2017 Barrel Selection is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, and it lights up your senses with cocoa dusted black fruits, graphite, and crushed flowers. The 2017 vintage is rocking right now, and every time I taste it, I’m perplexed by how incalculably good it is. 
 
CALCULATED RISK
BARREL SELECTION
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2017 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $79.99