Five years later and this is still a great wine. Deep purple in the glass. Aromatics of dark fruits and some leather at this point. Two hour decant and drank over two hours and this continued to evolve. Lingered on the palate. Paired well with grilled ribeyes. This has many years left although was my last bottle.
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A real treat for my 32nd bday. Extremely beautiful and complex. Starts austere, but wants you to fall in love with it before too long. This is a very taut, compact wine that feels far younger than it is. Didn't decant- followed evolution in bottle slowly over half a day (with my wife, who loved it too.) Decanting wouldn't hurt it, although it opened beautifully in bottle after an hour.
Heavy Bordeaux influence (yes, actually) but still powerfully Napa. Amazingly, oak was the least influential component for me- some beautiful baking spice and black licorice, but almost all about the fruit and earth. On the nose, deep blackberry, blueberry, cassis, black cherry, but extremely fresh, bright, ripe but vibrant, nearly the "brightest" very black fruit can get, if that makes sense. Also an intense earthy component, a little on the green side for my tastes at first and cloaking the fruit, but eventually making space for the fruit to harmonize beautifully. Tons of bitter dark chocolate, fresh brewed coffee, mint, cigar, even violets, all very Bordeaux, even without the woodsy funk. As earthy as it was, thankfully, I got zero bell pepper. The more you huff the nose, the more is revealed (it just keeps going.)
The palate is so dramatic- a burst of salty acidity that was so meaty/briney it almost evoked Northern Rhone syrah (awesome)- then the floodgates open and a torrent of black/blue/dark red fruit comes riding out on a black licorice surfboard. There's some cedary oak near the finish before the fruit washes it away in an endless wave. Then the tannins! Very powerful and dusty, but at this stage already fine-grained enough to be enjoyable without food- and this wine worked perfectly with a simple medium-rare ribeye, which heightened the fruit. Maybe a little less obviously complex with food, but also friendlier.
Is it worth ~$250+ (the average on WineSearcher) or $175 on WineBid? Hard for me to say; this is the most expensive wine we've ever purchased, and only a few have come close. It was absolutely gorgeous, complex, delicious, and balanced. Felt like it could use a little more time to coalesce, even if it's already highly enjoyable. Interesting to compare to the 2011 Hobbs Napa Cuvee, which felt much more immediately friendly, although much less complex and elegant. I found the 2014 Dunn Howell Mountain to be slightly better QPR, but only slightly, and it's nearly half the price of this (and both seem to need a little cellar nap). This Piedras wasn't so stunning that I'd call it /top-notch/ QPR, but even for the high price, I found it moving and memorable. Could easily improve with time as well.
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give a hour to open....in bottle / glass is ok. perfectly integrated dusty cherries and blueberries...long finish laced with licorice and spice. really seamless and wonderful.
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This was disappointing vs. expectations. The fruit seemed overdone to the point of pruning, and there was little lift from acidity. Smooth and rich, but without the bright fruit or acidity, this felt like a solid wine that I paid way too much for. reading other reviews, I may have had an off bottle
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Floral, crushed rocks and black fruit aromas followed by notes of cassis, black cherry, hint of vanilla in a very complex wine. Bold fruit with silky tannins and a long, tasty finish. Drink now or over the next 10 years.
Deep, deep purple color. Leather, and dark red/black fruit, liquorish, and game - it’s savory and fascinating. Great acidity, with integrated tannins. Years of life left for this beauty.
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My last bottle of this vintage. Opened, but not decanted at a NYC Steakhouse with my wine group. Originally it was supposed to be the 2nd red of the night, but I accidentally poured a 2014 TOR Beckstoffer To Kalon in front of it (I saw the Beckstoffer on the back of the bottle and flipped the order of the wines). Despite pouring it after a younger wine, I think this showed really well. Full bodied, long finish. It went really well with my lamb chops (no mint jelly for me!). Complex and very enjoyable.
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Wow! Huge, complex, deep purple, with structure - red and black fruits and earthy flavors. Fantastic Cab. Decanted 4 hours before drinking. This wine was ready to drink after decanting, but it has a long future drinking window that will last well into the 2020's. Worth the money.
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Decanted for 2 hours, and still was tight. The aromatics were great...black fruit, cedar. On the palate, the fruit was more intense and complex with mocha and earthy minerals. The finish was short and tannic. I will wait at least 2 years before I drink the next one.
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Not decanted, bottle cellar stored since release. Thick, viscous, inky near black color with garnet on the rim, youthful. For 30 minutes in the glass this was like standing in a mothballed cedar closet, where leather and furs are stored. Gradually, aromas of cherry pipe tobacco, candied violets, lavender Pine Sol, and cow pie in a field of wildflowers show up to bedazzle. In the mouth, great texture, balance and length: york peppermint patty, dried strawberries. spicy mole negro, black raspberries, and cherry pits. 14.6% alcohol is well hidden by the concentration and deep ripe fruit. Long bitter chocolate and stone pit finish. Superb for its type. Still 25 years of life, peak 5-8 years away.
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Opened but not decanted for about an hour before drinking it at a NYC restaurant. Had this alongside a 2011 Leoville Barton and a 2010 O'Shaughnessy Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder. Just a touch behind the O'Shaughnessy. But much better than the 2010 Paul Hobbs Beckstoffer Dr. Crane that I had a few nights before.
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This was superb on a night of tasting other bold Napa Cabernets. This was a little younger--really good now, but with many years left. Dark colors in the glass, nose is of cherried fruits, palate the same with currants and some earthiness. Long aftertaste that is pleasant. Paired with Beef Tenderloin superbly.
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A round and plush Cabernet that delivers a lot of fruit but should be drunk now - it tasted a bit past its prime to me, though that could just be personal preference. Inky red in color, full in body, nose of charcoal, blackberry, and baking spices. Tastes of plum, black cherry, and cedar, with a thick finish that carries very few tannins (and more than a little hint of sweetness). 14.6% alcohol. I've loved wines from this vineyard in the past - and I adored a 2012 Hobbs Piedras I had a few months ago - but this seems to lack energy and be on the descent into something more plummy and sugary. Better on first day. It's good, but I would drink in next year or so.
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Without decant. At first some roughness that changed with every zip. Scents of dark fruits and forest. Plum and earthy notes in the palate and only few tannins noticeable. Very round structure with a longlasting warm finish. Great!
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This is a big and bold wine. Minerals, dark fruit, licorice, and maybe tar are some of the flavors and aromas I picked up. It went great with a simple sirloin steak. It was the WOTN for me.
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Decanted for 3 hours and was singing. Surprisingly accecaple with leather, smoke, syrupy blackberry, and toasted vanilla. Would have guessed it to be a 2005.
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I thought of opening one of my 2013 Becklyn Cabernets, but I decided to go with the Paul Hobbs Las Pedrias. My first experience with a top notch Napa Cab was with Paul Hobbs and it was love at first taste. I have enjoyed several vintages in the past but this is my first Beckstoffer Cabernet from Paul Hobbs. I opened and poured the wine into a decanter. The color was at first a very dark yet blood / ruby red with a dark ruby red translucent perimeter. After a few hours the color changed to a very dark, almost black - purple color. The taste, dark & ripe fruit with smooth tannins, minerals, cassis, dark berries, licorice, tar and some cedar. This one hit the luxury level of Napa Cabernets in that it shows that little something that eludes description (Je ne sais quoi) but you know it when you taste it. This is a solid Cab, yet it was a little light on the palate compared to the 2013 Carter Grand Daddy which we also drank next to it. Despite this, the Hobbs is still an excellent, top of the line wine. If I had more of this vintage, I would give it more time. Excellent wine. 94.6 Points.
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This was rated twice by WA and the first review gave a drinking window starting in 2015, the second gave a drinking window starting with 2020. I think the first review got it right, its ready to drink now, although I am sure it has years of life ahead of it. We decanted this in a restaurant and probably didn't start pouring it for 45 minutes. This is a big and bold wine. Minerals, dark fruit, licorice, and maybe tar are some of the flavors and aromas I picked up. It went great with a simple sirloin steak.
After years of waiting, I am finally starting to open my Hobbs Beckstoffer wines. This was the one that was always least regarded by me (for no good reason), but it was great.
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Decanted about 8 hours. Too young, but very nice. Very dark & rich fruit flavors, hard tannins. Built to last. Packing the rest away for a nice slumber.
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12/2/2023 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 95 Points
Drinking great now. Loads of ripe plum, cassis and cooling minerals.
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8/12/2022 - gew71walsh wrote: 93 Points
Five years later and this is still a great wine. Deep purple in the glass. Aromatics of dark fruits and some leather at this point. Two hour decant and drank over two hours and this continued to evolve. Lingered on the palate. Paired well with grilled ribeyes. This has many years left although was my last bottle.
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2/12/2022 - webbaker Likes this wine: 96 Points
Multiple tastings with consistent notes. Classic Paul Hobbs Cabernet, drinking perfectly.
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7/6/2021 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
A real treat for my 32nd bday. Extremely beautiful and complex. Starts austere, but wants you to fall in love with it before too long. This is a very taut, compact wine that feels far younger than it is. Didn't decant- followed evolution in bottle slowly over half a day (with my wife, who loved it too.) Decanting wouldn't hurt it, although it opened beautifully in bottle after an hour.
Heavy Bordeaux influence (yes, actually) but still powerfully Napa. Amazingly, oak was the least influential component for me- some beautiful baking spice and black licorice, but almost all about the fruit and earth. On the nose, deep blackberry, blueberry, cassis, black cherry, but extremely fresh, bright, ripe but vibrant, nearly the "brightest" very black fruit can get, if that makes sense. Also an intense earthy component, a little on the green side for my tastes at first and cloaking the fruit, but eventually making space for the fruit to harmonize beautifully. Tons of bitter dark chocolate, fresh brewed coffee, mint, cigar, even violets, all very Bordeaux, even without the woodsy funk. As earthy as it was, thankfully, I got zero bell pepper. The more you huff the nose, the more is revealed (it just keeps going.)
The palate is so dramatic- a burst of salty acidity that was so meaty/briney it almost evoked Northern Rhone syrah (awesome)- then the floodgates open and a torrent of black/blue/dark red fruit comes riding out on a black licorice surfboard. There's some cedary oak near the finish before the fruit washes it away in an endless wave. Then the tannins! Very powerful and dusty, but at this stage already fine-grained enough to be enjoyable without food- and this wine worked perfectly with a simple medium-rare ribeye, which heightened the fruit. Maybe a little less obviously complex with food, but also friendlier.
Is it worth ~$250+ (the average on WineSearcher) or $175 on WineBid? Hard for me to say; this is the most expensive wine we've ever purchased, and only a few have come close. It was absolutely gorgeous, complex, delicious, and balanced. Felt like it could use a little more time to coalesce, even if it's already highly enjoyable. Interesting to compare to the 2011 Hobbs Napa Cuvee, which felt much more immediately friendly, although much less complex and elegant. I found the 2014 Dunn Howell Mountain to be slightly better QPR, but only slightly, and it's nearly half the price of this (and both seem to need a little cellar nap). This Piedras wasn't so stunning that I'd call it /top-notch/ QPR, but even for the high price, I found it moving and memorable. Could easily improve with time as well.
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7/6/2021 - DesMarteau Likes this wine: 96 Points
give a hour to open....in bottle / glass is ok. perfectly integrated dusty cherries and blueberries...long finish laced with licorice and spice. really seamless and wonderful.
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6/11/2021 - danielbleier wrote: 87 Points
This was disappointing vs. expectations. The fruit seemed overdone to the point of pruning, and there was little lift from acidity. Smooth and rich, but without the bright fruit or acidity, this felt like a solid wine that I paid way too much for. reading other reviews, I may have had an off bottle
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5/13/2020 - jcampano Likes this wine: 96 Points
Floral, crushed rocks and black fruit aromas followed by notes of cassis, black cherry, hint of vanilla in a very complex wine. Bold fruit with silky tannins and a long, tasty finish. Drink now or over the next 10 years.
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4/17/2020 - Bob23 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep, deep purple color. Leather, and dark red/black fruit, liquorish, and game - it’s savory and fascinating. Great acidity, with integrated tannins. Years of life left for this beauty.
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12/21/2019 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 96 Points
My last bottle of this vintage. Opened, but not decanted at a NYC Steakhouse with my wine group. Originally it was supposed to be the 2nd red of the night, but I accidentally poured a 2014 TOR Beckstoffer To Kalon in front of it (I saw the Beckstoffer on the back of the bottle and flipped the order of the wines). Despite pouring it after a younger wine, I think this showed really well. Full bodied, long finish. It went really well with my lamb chops (no mint jelly for me!). Complex and very enjoyable.
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4/12/2019 - Squilber Likes this wine: 98 Points
Wow! Huge, complex, deep purple, with structure - red and black fruits and earthy flavors. Fantastic Cab. Decanted 4 hours before drinking. This wine was ready to drink after decanting, but it has a long future drinking window that will last well into the 2020's. Worth the money.
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4/11/2019 - jcampano Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for 2 hours, and still was tight. The aromatics were great...black fruit, cedar. On the palate, the fruit was more intense and complex with mocha and earthy minerals. The finish was short and tannic. I will wait at least 2 years before I drink the next one.
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4/2/2019 - OenoEd Likes this wine: 95 Points
Not decanted, bottle cellar stored since release. Thick, viscous, inky near black color with garnet on the rim, youthful. For 30 minutes in the glass this was like standing in a mothballed cedar closet, where leather and furs are stored. Gradually, aromas of cherry pipe tobacco, candied violets, lavender Pine Sol, and cow pie in a field of wildflowers show up to bedazzle.
In the mouth, great texture, balance and length: york peppermint patty, dried strawberries. spicy mole negro, black raspberries, and cherry pits. 14.6% alcohol is well hidden by the concentration and deep ripe fruit. Long bitter chocolate and stone pit finish. Superb for its type. Still 25 years of life, peak 5-8 years away.
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9/22/2018 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opened but not decanted for about an hour before drinking it at a NYC restaurant. Had this alongside a 2011 Leoville Barton and a 2010 O'Shaughnessy Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder. Just a touch behind the O'Shaughnessy. But much better than the 2010 Paul Hobbs Beckstoffer Dr. Crane that I had a few nights before.
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3/2/2018 - sjdoc wrote: 96 Points
Took an hour to open up. Then a robust, dark fruit wine with the typical mineral tones in the tannins. My favorite vineyard.
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11/29/2017 - gew71walsh wrote: 93 Points
This was superb on a night of tasting other bold Napa Cabernets. This was a little younger--really good now, but with many years left. Dark colors in the glass, nose is of cherried fruits, palate the same with currants and some earthiness. Long aftertaste that is pleasant. Paired with Beef Tenderloin superbly.
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8/7/2017 - msuwine wrote: 94 Points
A round and plush Cabernet that delivers a lot of fruit but should be drunk now - it tasted a bit past its prime to me, though that could just be personal preference. Inky red in color, full in body, nose of charcoal, blackberry, and baking spices. Tastes of plum, black cherry, and cedar, with a thick finish that carries very few tannins (and more than a little hint of sweetness). 14.6% alcohol. I've loved wines from this vineyard in the past - and I adored a 2012 Hobbs Piedras I had a few months ago - but this seems to lack energy and be on the descent into something more plummy and sugary. Better on first day. It's good, but I would drink in next year or so.
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11/27/2016 - Longrange380 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Without decant. At first some roughness that changed with every zip. Scents of dark fruits and forest. Plum and earthy notes in the palate and only few tannins noticeable. Very round structure with a longlasting warm finish. Great!
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9/7/2016 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 96 Points
Paul Hobbs Night (Lincoln Squre Steaks, Amsterdam Ave, New York City): My second bottle of this, and I enjoyed it just as much this time. We were able to decant it for over an hour before trying it.
This is a big and bold wine. Minerals, dark fruit, licorice, and maybe tar are some of the flavors and aromas I picked up. It went great with a simple sirloin steak. It was the WOTN for me.
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5/2/2016 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for 3 hours and was singing. Surprisingly accecaple with leather, smoke, syrupy blackberry, and toasted vanilla. Would have guessed it to be a 2005.
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12/21/2015 - Yack Man Likes this wine: 95 Points
I thought of opening one of my 2013 Becklyn Cabernets, but I decided to go with the Paul Hobbs Las Pedrias. My first experience with a top notch Napa Cab was with Paul Hobbs and it was love at first taste. I have enjoyed several vintages in the past but this is my first Beckstoffer Cabernet from Paul Hobbs. I opened and poured the wine into a decanter. The color was at first a very dark yet blood / ruby red with a dark ruby red translucent perimeter. After a few hours the color changed to a very dark, almost black - purple color. The taste, dark & ripe fruit with smooth tannins, minerals, cassis, dark berries, licorice, tar and some cedar. This one hit the luxury level of Napa Cabernets in that it shows that little something that eludes description (Je ne sais quoi) but you know it when you taste it. This is a solid Cab, yet it was a little light on the palate compared to the 2013 Carter Grand Daddy which we also drank next to it. Despite this, the Hobbs is still an excellent, top of the line wine. If I had more of this vintage, I would give it more time. Excellent wine. 94.6 Points.
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10/22/2015 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 96 Points
This was rated twice by WA and the first review gave a drinking window starting in 2015, the second gave a drinking window starting with 2020. I think the first review got it right, its ready to drink now, although I am sure it has years of life ahead of it. We decanted this in a restaurant and probably didn't start pouring it for 45 minutes. This is a big and bold wine. Minerals, dark fruit, licorice, and maybe tar are some of the flavors and aromas I picked up. It went great with a simple sirloin steak.
After years of waiting, I am finally starting to open my Hobbs Beckstoffer wines. This was the one that was always least regarded by me (for no good reason), but it was great.
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11/12/2013 - webbaker Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted about 8 hours. Too young, but very nice. Very dark & rich fruit flavors, hard tannins. Built to last. Packing the rest away for a nice slumber.
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