Beringer Cabernets '91-'93 Blindtasted
Tom's House, Palo Alto, CA
Tasted Thursday, January 29, 2009 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 339 views
Introduction
Introductory comments by tasting organizer Ross Bott:
Tonight we continue with our fourth part in our series retrospective on Beringer Cabernet Sauvignons. Perhaps the biggest surprise from our last Beringer tasting was how well the Knights Valley bottlings showed. Priced at a quarter to a fifth of the Private Reserve bottlings, these are no ordinary Cabernets and Meritages -- showing lots of richness, depth and complexity and ageability rivaling the Reserve bottlings. As one measure of their quality, no one has been able to consistently identify the Knights bottlings among the Reserves. This is not to take anything away from the Reserves and single vineyard bottlings, which were all outstanding, and with several of these at about two decades old already still perhaps several years away from their peak.
Tonight, we'll continue our retrospective with a focus on the 1991 to 1993 vintages. Ed Sbragia, who had taken over as head winemaker in 1984, was now seven to nine years in the saddle, and in full stride. The acquisition of Beringer by Nestle (in 1996) was still in the future, and there was nothing to distract the winemaking team. As a result, the Cabernets during this period were all outstanding, and, as Robert Parker notes below, set a reference point around the world for what California was capable of with the Bordeaux varietal family. The 1991, 1992 and 1993 Private Reserves and the 1991 Chabot Vineyard all were ranked 95 points or higher by Parker.
This tasting will also mark the inclusion of the first Bancroft Ranch Merlot in our retrospective. From a vineyard high in the slopes of Howell Mountain, Beringer began to make a 100% Merlot beginning in 1987. The Howell Mountain ruggedness makes this wine more a Cabernet than Merlot in terms of depth and tannic backbone. Aged in all new French oak, these wines age beautifully for 10-20 years. This will also be our first visit with Alluvium, a Merlot-dominated Bordeaux blend designed to emulate a good Pomerol in style. The 1993 that we'll be trying is the first vintage this wine was produced.
1991 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Chabot Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
Group's #1 (my #3) – 34 pts; 5 firsts, 3 seconds, 2 thirds, 0 last places – dark cherry red color; appealing berry, cassis, black cherry and cinnamon nose; tart berry, cassis, charcoal, black fruit and mineral palate; medium finish
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1991 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve 86 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Group's #2 (my #5) – 45 pts.; 3, 3, 1, 0 – dark red violet color; mild tobacco, cassis and black fruit nose; tart cassis palate with firm tannins, a little unbalanced; short-medium finish
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1993 Beringer Vineyards Alluvium 92 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley
Group's #3 (my #2) – 57 pts.; 2, 1, 1, 0 – medium red violet color; nice cassis, ripe cranberry and tart cherry nose; nice, youthful, cassis, tart berry palate with depth and years to go yet; medium-plus finish
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1992 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve 85 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Group's #4 (my #6) – 57 pts.; 0, 2, 1, 0 – medium red violet color with pale meniscus; tobacco, leather and charcoal nose; more mature on palate, narrow, leather and plum palate with sweet tannins; medium finish
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1993 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve 82 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Group's #5 (my #7) – 63 pts.; 1, 1, 2, 1 – medium red violet color; tart cherry, graphite, plum and mulberry nose; dullish berry, dried out black fruit palate with tannin; short-medium dry finish
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1993 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Chabot Vineyard 93 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
Group's #6 (my #1) – 67 pts.; 1, 2, 1, 3 – bricking light medium red color with pale meniscus; cranberry, floral, berry and raspberry syrup nose; tasty, deep berry, spicy plum and blackberry palate; medium finish
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1993 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley 81 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley
Group's #7 (my #8) – 73 pts.; 1, 0, 3, 5 – medium cherry red color with pale meniscus; brett, lamb jus and tobacco nose; better on palate, tart plum, charcoal palate, but drying out and lacking complexity; short-medium finish
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1991 Beringer Vineyards Merlot Bancroft Ranch 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Group's #8 (my #4) – 81 pts.; 0, 1, 2, 4 – medium red violet color; focused tart plum, floral and ripe strawberry nose; very tart cassis, charcoal and mineral palate with a hint of leather; medium finish 90+ pts.
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