2015 Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon BBS Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (10) Avg Score: 98.4 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View csimm's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/7/2021 - csimm wrote: 97 Points

  Warning Will Robinson! Warning! We are shut down for business here. LPV has done it again. Caution. Crime Scene. Do Not Cross. Back away. Nothing to see here.
  
  Well, not until..........
  
  Ok, so this started out like a fruity red and (kinda) black-ish berry semi-sweet cherry Creamsicle, with a bit of a cloying finish that made me ask myself, “Self… Did you just make a mistake and open this too early? Is your palate stupid? Can you put the cork back in and pretend this never happened? Can we jump in the fast-forward machine to 2030 and have a do-over?” Well, the answers to those questions are likely, “Yes. Usually. No. And, um…No.” So, do the best with what ya got, I say. In the decanter it goes; back in the bottle it goes; back in the decanter it goes (after a few hours in-bottle). Much-better but not great-better. Still a stubborn bumpkin. Linear and coy with both its flavor expansion and overall intensity. It was lumping out this red fruit note from who knows where that made me think more of Grenache than Cabernet Sauvignon, and especially not the black Dracula profile of LPV. Friggin Las Piedras Vineyard. I curse you and love you at the same time. A finicky feline to be sure.
  
  So, as the story goes, after a few more saga hours of wiping the melancholy tears from my solemn rosy cheeks and leaving this wine in a time-out in a little corner of the kitchen, I laboriously shilly-shally my way over to my final glass, give a sigh, and take a sip. Well, twice-slap me silly and call me two-faced; wouldn’t you know it, someone decided to wake up and join the party. I hate reality-TV-makeover shows, but this was a slow burn apparently worth watching (but it took until Episode 13 to get there). Bitter-chocolate, blackberry seed, black raspberry, anise and dark roasted spices, black rock, and dark topsoil flood in like a sea of Soylent Green consumers at a 4AM Walmart Black Friday sale.
  
  Ok, so life lesson #359,458. Leave this wine alone for another ten years if you want to get the full effect of its grandeur. That final glass was completely amazing, such that I had to forget about the whole evening leading up to it. This was a bad date that looked like it was going to totally tank all the way until the first surprise kiss at the very end of the night. And then, it is all sparks and rainbows. 97++ points on the last glass, with even more potential in the future. What a transformation!

  2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (4)

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View GFischmann's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/1/2021 - GFischmann wrote: 98 Points

  Amazing balance of dark fruit, acidity and tannins. Best wine incorporates the best of Napa!

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View overspeed62's profile
  • Report Issue

  3/22/2020 - overspeed62 wrote: 100 Points

  I can't be as eloquent as CSIMM but those comments are totally on point. I've had a lot of VV wine and believe that they're the most balanced, enjoyable wines in Napa Valley but this particular bottle is the best I've ever enjoyed. For my palate, the perfect blend...beautiful, luscious black fruits, that LPV minerality, and a long, pleasant finish.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View dmwilsondvm's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/24/2019 - dmwilsondvm wrote: 100 Points

  Vice Versa tasting, Chicago (RPM Steak): Tasted next to the 2015 Vice Versa Mag 7. A perfect wine. Masterful.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Cristal2000's profile
  • Report Issue

  8/2/2018 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 98 Points

  Don't have much to say that hasn't already been said here by CSIMM. I agree with his assessment wholeheartedly. What I can say is that I'm mad at myself for not picking any of these up despite the large tariff. It's pretty rare in Napa to have a best barrel selection of Beckstoffer fruit in only one single barrel or around 30 cases. You hear that about Schrader's Old Sparky, and then you realize they're really producing over 400 cases of magnums. This is truly a unique and special wine.
  
  All of that being said, I think the 2016 vintage from VV is actually better. We had this next to a regular 2016 LPV and it was a hair better. And I've had the 2016 M7 and Crane BBS which are otherworldly. If you have some 2016's coming to you, consider yourself very lucky. This juice is absolutely fantastic!

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 10 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.