Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1996

Since I began combining Cabernets from several vineyards for this reserve wine, now almost 20 years ago, Ive been citing the expression, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. In this vintage, the wine gives extra proof of that. Each vineyards Cabernet had its characteristic flavors, and the French oak barrels added their own notes, so the wine began with the classic notes of ripe cherries, cassis, light minty herbs, vanilla, spice and toasty oak. But it also has a whole other dimension of aromas and flavors: hints of cocoa, roasted coffee beans, even tobacco and licorice. In the nose and in the mouth, this wine just keeps revealing itself. Uncovering these layers is part of the magic of making and drinking wine, and one of the reasons my job is endlessly fascinating. -Ed Sbragia, Winemaster