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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.3 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 453 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by chapulin on 5/4/2024 & rated 89 points: While I maintain that Beringer Private Reserve is pound for pound the best value in Napa Cab, this bottle disappointed a little. It felt tired and the oak was the dominant element. Little acidity, body, and complexity. I much preferred the 1995 I had a few months ago (320 views) | | | Tasted by bryon m on 3/15/2024 & rated 91 points: Amazing color and full body. Soft mouth feel, round, flavors of plum and other dark fruit. Finish was nice, soft, easy!
It held up well for 27 plus years. (631 views) | | | Tasted by WineRay05 on 3/8/2024 & rated 94 points: Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. (609 views) | | | Tasted by thesternowl on 1/18/2024 flawed bottle: 1997 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Retrospective (Omaha, NE): Corked. What a pity. (1180 views) | | | Tasted by guzmana on 12/10/2023 & rated 93 points: Truly enjoyable. Delicate and sophisticated. (1282 views) | | | Tasted by aquacongas on 11/5/2023 & rated 93 points: blind
Still very drinkable but I would wait not much longer. Tertiary aromas over primary fruit notes. Spicy, cigar box and black currant. 93 (1443 views) | | | Tasted by Old Joe on 7/22/2023 & rated 93 points: Still drinking fantastically I agree with prior comment as I only have one bottle left and iIwill not rush to drink it (1742 views) | | | Tasted by ipp on 7/10/2023 & rated 93 points: still youthful (1830 views) | | | Tasted by prv530 on 3/11/2023 & rated 92 points: Drinking the wine at age 25. Dark, no water line. Graphite, asphalt, green pepper. Tannins resolved. Still another 10 yrs to this wine.Long finish.. (2184 views) | | | Tasted by modesassion on 2/12/2023 & rated 93 points: Very much alive and well. Bright fruit with ample depth and structure. Well aged but would not be surprised if it tastes similar for several years. Fully mature. Enjoy! (1823 views) | | | Tasted by JFI on 12/17/2022 & rated 93 points: No need to hurry the last bottles (1970 views) | | | Tasted by scaredone on 10/24/2022 & rated 93 points: ditto Pitt Wine Guy (1779 views) | | | Tasted by NotAWineGuy on 7/22/2022 & rated 88 points: past it (1904 views) | | | Tasted by PITT Wine Guy on 4/12/2022 & rated 93 points: 1997 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Cellared since release 1999
Opened 30 minutes not decanted. Tasted 4/ 10/2022
Medium dark purple in the glass with minimal lightening at the rim. The nose was black fruit, cassis, and earth.
The palate revealed medium body and nicely aged, sweet (characteristic of California Cabs) cherry and black cherry fruit, which streamed across the mid-palate to the back of the throat. The wine opened fully at one hour and was beautifully balanced (almost St. Julien-esque). There were soft, well-integrated tannins, and it culminated in a 30 second finish. Really enjoyable wine, especially one hour to three hours after pour, at which time it became a tiny bit rounder and softer. All in all, a beautifully aged California CAB in the later stages of life but really good. Would drink up.
I will drink the last bottle within the next year.
93 points (1961 views) | | | Tasted by spineguy on 1/17/2022 & rated 94 points: Sadly the last of my case but probably at the end of its prime. Well integrated with fading tannins. Even a touch of maderisation. Guess its time to move on and find a new friend. Really enjoyed this last bottle with my family! (2127 views) | | | Tasted by mfrome on 9/11/2021 & rated 92 points: At the Matheson (2563 views) | | | Tasted by pmik on 9/7/2021 & rated 91 points: Vinnørd (2133 views) | | | Tasted by acheng on 9/24/2020: Best in its first 15 minutes with incense and smoke. Then lost the complexity. Still good fruit left even on second day. Tannin is well resolved. Drink up. (4026 views) | | | Tasted by europat55 on 9/7/2020 & rated 92 points: Nose: A- Palate: B++ Tasted blind. (3315 views) | | | Tasted by Mr T on 6/7/2020: Opened for birthday dinner with son born same year. Wine is quite ripe and for me too sweet and jammy and sort a mess. Odd impression for a wine this old and maybe I was grumpy (don’t think so) but just really surprising. Doesn’t sound like others had similar experience (3639 views) | | | Tasted by pmik on 5/18/2020 & rated 92 points: Cab tasting with Korsholm. Still very alive, but probably at or slightly past peak (3274 views) | | | Tasted by Pioneer1 on 5/10/2020 & rated 94 points: Decanted for 2 hours; light red "old wine" color; subtle dark fruit flavors with a hint of dark chocolate and vanilla. Soft on the palate with a smooth finish. An old wine that we savored to the last drop on mother's day in memory of those no longer with us. (3297 views) | | | Tasted by PDavisMarble on 4/5/2020 & rated 91 points: This one’s on its backswing. nose and flavor profile are a touch sweet and stewed. Not bad, but this is edging towards the end of its life. (2485 views) | | | Tasted by spineguy on 4/4/2020: How sad. Getting old and past prime but still drinkable. Was one of my favs. I have one more, perhaps this bottle was flawed. Lots of bret. (2184 views) | | | Tasted by Mccrossanc on 3/31/2020 & rated 93 points: Still wonderful (1868 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, Vintage Retrospective: The 1997 Napa Valley Cabernets (Sep 2017) (9/1/2017)
(Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, Beringer’s Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon: One of Napa Valley’s First Cult Wines (Jul 2015) (7/1/2015)
(Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By David Lawrason
WineAlign (11/23/2011)
(Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (11/17/2011)
(Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/12/2002)
(Beringer, Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2000, IWC Issue #90
(Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 1999, IWC Issue #84
(Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and WineAlign and JancisRobinson.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Beringer Vineyards Producer websiteCabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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