For the month of March, my Wine of the Month choice is Beringer’s Cabernet Sauvignon. It is my personal favorite Napa Cab and competes on par (in my opinion) with Napa Cabs that cost 2X as much. Ever since Joseph Beringer settled in the valley in 1875, the family has continuously made wine longer than anyone else in California (although Krug was there first, they have since sold out to the Mondavi family). There are several high end single vineyard Cab Sauv.s to choose from. All of them are excellent, but my current favorite is the Private Reserve, which is a blend of their BEST single vineyard grapes. This one, like the others, will retail at $200+ dollars, if you can find it (which puts them at the very high end of Reggie III’s price range). Not to worry, they also make a straight Cab and another that I will talk about below, that retails in Steve’s price range. Unfortunately, Clinton Wine & Spirits doesn’t currently carry Beringer wines (but they have an excellent Caymus for ~ $200).
In addition to owning more land in the valley than any other winery, they also own a huge “chunk” of Knight’s Valley (just north & west of Napa Valley). It is here that their Knight’s Valley and Knight’s Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon come from. This is an outstanding, easy drinking, affordable wine that you can find in many wine/ liquor stores or restaurants. In my opinion, it is the BEST Napa Cab you will find for less than $100. Finally, for those of you who are into “party” wine, Beringer does make a “whiskey barrel” Cab blend under the Beringer Bros. (brothers) label. Personally, I’m not a big fan of cheap party cabs. But, Beringer’s does make a pretty decent one that is well within Billy’s price range.
As far as tasting notes goes (both mine and Beringer’s), on the nose you will get blackberry, blackcurrant, and black cherry. Between the nose & the tongue, you will get graphite and spice. Some floral notes and mint are also possible on the finish. It has fresh acidity and ripe, polished tannins. This full bodied wine has a long finish and will age for at least 10 years. The 2019 Private Reserve was made from a blend of 5 different vineyards and is “greater than the sum of its parts” (Wine Advocate). The Wine Spectator rates it as a 94 (high praise for them) and James Suckling rates it as a 97. I would stand this Cab up against Opus One or Abreau any day of the week!
That should do it for this blog. Next week, I will go back to Food & Wine, for a post appropriate for March Madness basketball viewing. See you then. Cheers!