Community Tasting Note

• csimm wrote: 91 points

  August 27, 2016 - Tor Kenward Premier Tasting Event at Meadowood (Meadowood Resort, Napa): This was smartly the first Cabernet (+Cab blends) of the lineup. Medium bodied, and showing a little like a second-rate Cabernet at this stage, this wine struggled to come out of its shell and display any noteworthy flavors at the moment. A little thin mid-palate, with a fairly short finish.
  
  Specific notes of red and faint black fruit, red currant, plum, cedar, and alcohol. Gained points for being smooth and accessible for a 2014. Lost a little in the intensity and complexity categories. Not worth the QPR in my opinion. Stick with the Vineyard Designate wines from Tor when it comes to Cabernets and BDX style blends.
  
  90-92 points for now; likely topping out in that respective point range, max.

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12 Comments

• Yack Man commented:

  1/21/17, 10:54 AM - I just picked up a bottle of this one solely based on the label and because I have enjoyed their Beckstoffer Cabs, but I wish I would have read your notes on this Cab. I really enjoyed the 2009 Napa Cabernet, but since that vintage they all seem to be lacking in heft and extraction. I suppose I should let this wine rest for awhile?

• csimm commented:

  1/21/17, 1:57 PM - Obviously this is just my silly opinion, but personally I have become pretty disappointed with the standard Tor Cabernet, to the point where I won't buy it anymore. It's an ok Cabernet, but not at the QPR they set for it. I'd rather pay the extra coin for Tor's BTK Cabernets. Jeff Ames is a super nice guy (one of the nicest in the business really), but I have honestly found some of his wines to be hit or miss, even with the Tor label. I can't exactly figure it out or guesstimate which wines will be great and which ones will falter. I'm even leery about buying Tor wines in general now. The Melanson, Cimarossa, and BTK Cabernets are almost always crafted well. Some of the others (the Black Magic, the BTK proprietary red blend, the standard Cabernet) seem to lack the depth and quality by comparison. I know vintages vary and all that, but when I start to become overly cautious about a wine, I am now starting to just jump ship because I don't want to totally waste money on absolute unpredictability. All that said, I'd wait another year at least on opening this standard Cabernet. Sorry to be a wet blanket about it. I do look forward to your thoughts...hopefully it works out fine and I'm totally wrong.

• Badmonkey commented:

  1/31/17, 6:44 AM - Nice note as usual. I was looking forward to tasting this wine because of the source and blend - 100% cab from Beckstoffer To Kalon, Melanson, Tierra Roja, Cimarossa, Herb Lamb, and Vine Hill Ranch. However, according to the Tor website, primarily Melanson fruit which really intrigued me - I really enjoyed the 2013 vintage of Melanson but I'm letting the other bottles lay down for a little longer. I'll have to pick-up a bottle because I'm still intrigued but it sounds like a similar effort as the 2012 and 2013 vintages which I didn't care for at least for the money. I agree with your thoughts - I love their single vineyard cabs but the entry level cab has been underwhelming. Take care.

• csimm commented:

  1/31/17, 8:13 AM - Hi Badmonkey. I suppose I just have to put aside the fact that I respect Jeff Ames as generally a quality winemaker and I certainly like a couple of specific SVDs from Tor (BTK Cab, Melanson, Cimarossa), but just don't find any real interest in the Tor standard Cabernet. "Underwhelming" is indeed an apt descriptor.
  
  With the Tor BTK Cabernet, I seem to have a consistent affinity for each vintage (even better than Black Magic). I saw your recent detailed note on the 2013 - very encouraging note. Thanks!

• Badmonkey commented:

  1/31/17, 8:30 AM - I'm in agreement with their entry level cab - especially in regards to the 2012 and 2013 vintages. Although I need to revisit the 2013 vintage - I wanted to give it a year or so after the last tasting hoping the fruit would fill-out a little more mid-palate. I thought maybe there would be a change of direction in light of the 2014 vintage coming primarily from the Melanson vineyard, however, it doesn't sound like that's the case. The 2013 Tor Beckstoffer To-Kalon is really well done but needs some time - at least a year but two years very likely because it's a big cab. Take care.

• csimm commented:

  1/31/17, 4:04 PM - I'll continue to be patient with my 2013 BTKs. Even the 2012 BTK Cab and proprietary red still fell like they need time to me. Thanks!

• jmorgand commented:

  2/3/17, 10:19 AM - I'm willing to bet it's just a bit too young at the moment. I received my shipment today and will likely wait 3 years or so before popping one open.

• csimm commented:

  2/3/17, 10:35 AM - I hope you're right jmorgand. I'll be interested to know your perspective when you get around to trying it.

• TomOfCT commented:

  7/2/17, 7:30 PM - Drinking this now, you couldn't call the wine thin.

• csimm commented:

  7/2/17, 11:14 PM - Well TomOfCT...I can tell you that I did call it thin because it was thin. When I had this wine, it most certainly was thin mid-palate and clipped on the back end. Actually, a bit forgettable to be honest. But that's just my perspective.
  
  If your perspective is that it has now filled in since I last had it, I'm very pleased to hear you enjoyed it and didn't experience it as thin. Hopefully going forward it provides pleasure to all who give it a shot.

• TomOfCT commented:

  7/3/17, 5:12 AM - I don't doubt your bottle was thin. The robustness of what we had isn't something that would have developed in a year...rather may be a sign of inconsistency.
  
  We've got 11 more to go... :)

• csimm commented:

  7/3/17, 7:04 AM - I'm glad you liked your bottle and hope your others provide the same enjoyment. It's been almost a year since I had this wine, so some development makes sense. Inconsistency/bottle variation is indeed possible as well (especially since this is an appellation wine and higher in production). Even bottle shock perhaps, as they were just recently bottled when I had them. Throw in the subjectivity of my palate versus others, and it's sometimes hard to pinpoint the exact differences in why and how a particular wine displays at a given time.
  
  I can tell you I was especially fond of the '14 BTK Cabernet and Cimarossa. But that's just my preference.
  
  I look forward to your future thoughts/notes on this wine as you follow it throughout consumption. Enjoy!!

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