Community Tasting Notes 5

• csimm1161 wrote:

  July 27, 2021 - Vice Versa weekend and dinner: Of the three 2015 Vice Versas consumed this night for the dinner portion of the event, the Crane was…wait for it… the most fruit-forward of the three. It starts out a little hollow and plummy, but only for a flash; before you know it, it is chiming-in with plum, black cherry, and spice notes that completely elevate both the accompanying food, and in turn, the wine itself. These Vice Vera wines held up well next to a 2015 Promontory and 2012 Harlan circling the table like wine sharks just waiting and hoping to crush the competition (Of course, it’s not a competition, but it kinda is, right?!). Anyway, my take-away from the Vice Versa 2015s is that they are masterfully honed and determined, but ultimately would benefit with more time in-bottle. Hold until 2025.

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• Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 96 points

  July 24, 2021 - Vice Versa Wine Dinner: What a treat to have these BBS wines. They don’t make them any longer, but one barrel of their best juice from these Beckstoffer sites was just epic while it lasted. On this occasion, the TK BBS outshined the Crane BBS, but this was still extremely tasty. Showed all the fresh and pure blueberry compote and black cherry fruit that makes this vineyard so special, while also still attempting to integrate and resolve its massive size. This is stuffed with all the goodness you could want, but it will take a little more time to reach its stride. Give it a few more years and a very long decant.

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• csimm1161 wrote: 99 points

  February 9, 2018 - 3-Day Napa Cab Taste-Off: Vice Versa, B Cellars, Memento Mori, Alpha Omega, Purlieu, Janzen, Realm, Myriad, MACDONALD, Maybach, and more...; 2/7/2018-2/9/2018 (Napa): Signature notes of dark, black core fruit: blackberry, blueberry, black raspberry, dark black plum, burnt embers, earth, coffee grounds, anise, black rock, and violets. This wine has an extremely dark energy, almost gothic in its delivery. The minerality and floral components provide lift so as not to complicate and burden the mid-palate with a hit of just black fruit. Levels and levels of evolving complexity and concentration here. The finish sails on forever. After a few hours of air, a purple berry jam note appeared, but was quickly carted off by nice hits of acid and minerality.
  
  Compared to the 2016 Crane BBS, this 2015 has more of a distinct line of focus in its delivery of flavor on the back end. The mineral component was more evident, making for an exacting grip that judiciously corralled the black fruit. The 2016 was much more expressive overall, with even more concentration and flavor shooting out across the palate. This may change once the 2016 has some time in bottle; but for now, the 2016 is a "firing on all cylinders" kind of wine (a kind of flamboyance I can't help but be extra drawn to). The 2015 is starting to show some maturity by comparison. Both are essentially perfect wines as far as I'm concerned and well worth the price of admission. 98-99+ points, with upside after 2+ years.
  
  A thousand thanks to Patrice for sacrificing this rare and gorgeous wine for the table. Epic juice!

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• Cristal2000 wrote: 99 points

  February 9, 2018 - Whirlwind Winter Tasting in the Valley; 2/7/2018-2/10/2018 (Napa Valley, CA): The BBS is a selection of the best blocks from the center of the vineyard. They make only one barrel/25 cases of BBS for each of the Beckstoffer wines, along with an M7 that is a blend of the best of the BBS.
  
  Similar notes to the one I posted on 9/11/2017. While obviously pricey, these BBS wines are just tremendous. Spring flowers, violets, blueberries, scorched earth on the nose. Much like many of the other BBS wines I had recently, just enormous concentration, energy and drive - framed with perfect tannin management and wonderful complexity. My favorite kind of black/blue fruit mixed in with deep minerality. Such a great wine. The length is fairly epic - 1min+.
  
  Thanks to Patrice for this amazing wine!

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• Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 98 points

  September 11, 2017 - This is killer stuff, as it should be for $350/bottle. Had right after a 2015 VV LPV, and despite the different vineyards it shared the same incredible nose of crushed flowers, cassis, licorice and earth. Once on the pallet you could see where the "BBS" part of it came in, as it was deeper, denser, more highly concentrated and the finish was nearly twice as long. This was incredible stuff, and was only eclipsed by the Magnificent 7 from the same vintage. It's worth picking couple of these up if you can afford them.

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Wine Definition

• Vintage 2015
• Type Red
• Producer Vice Versa
• Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
• Designation BBS
• Vineyard Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Napa Valley
• Appellation St. Helena

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• Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
• In Cellars 148 (84%)
• Consumed 28 (16%)

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