Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

"The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve may not equal the fabulous concentration and intensity of the 2001, but it’s not far off the mark. It is a fruit-forward, softer, more flamboyant, already seductive effort displaying gorgeous notes of chocolaty creme de cassis, some spicy, high-quality, toasty oak, a rich, plush, savory, expansive mid-palate, and a long, heady finish with elevated glycerin and plenty of sweet tannin and fruit. This wine is delicious yet promises to age gorgeously for 15-20 years. Ed Sbragia compares it to the 1992 which, by the way, is drinking superbly in 2005, but is one of those rare vintages that has never gone through a closed period. It’s always a fascinating education to taste through these component parts, but the resulting blend that Ed Sbragia puts together, the extraordinary Private Reserve, is one of the great Cabernet Sauvignons of California and he has fashioned a succession of beauties since 1991. In fact, there are two gorgeous ones in the market, the profound 2001 and the flamboyant, exotic 2002."

94 Points

The Wine Advocate

"Good full ruby-red. Sexy aromas of currant and dark chocolate. Compellingly sweet and densely packed, with lovely vinosity giving shape to the flavors of dark berries, cedar and minerals. Very fine-grained and very long on the palate, with the tannins perfectly buffered by the wine's material. This wine, mostly from Steinhauer and St. Helena fruit, went into the barrel in January of 2003 and remained there for two years, undisturbed except for a monthly topping-up. Has the balance to offer considerable early appeal, but this bottling has a long track record for aging gracefully in bottle and surprising with its longevity."

94 Points

International Wine Cellar

"Ed Sbragia blends this wine from a selection of vineyards primarily on Howell Mountain and closer to the winery in St. Helena. On their own, these vineyards produce distinctive and ageworthy cabernets; Sbragia's selections of Chabot, Marston and Bancroft are among the top wines in the valley. The Private Reserve often blends away some of those distinctions, emphasizing winemaking style instead. To me, it often tastes like a well-heeled wine, glossy and easy to appreciate. This vintage goes beyond those straightforward charms. It starts off warm and fat, with spicy red berry flavors and a touch of bitterness in the tannin, then air begins to meld the fruit and structure, bringing complexity and a meaty richness. Check on it in ten years."

92 Points

Wine & Spirits

"Here is a big, beautifully ripened, definitively varietal opus that is brimming with deep, well-extracted fruit and decked out with a full measure of very sweet oak. Its precise focus and its wholly impeccable balance place it at the forefront of the pack, and it never once hints at heaviness or heat. While fairly tannic, it is not in the least tough, and its essential juiciness perseveres to the end. Those with a taste for young Cabernet will find lots to like even now, but the real beauty of this compelling wine will only emerge with five years of time."

91 Points

Connoisseurs' Guide

"Huge wine, young and tannic, almost bitter now and not offering much relief. But of course you don’t buy Beringer PR tonight. There is indeed enormous Cabernet flavor deep down inside, offering oodles of blackberries and cherries and charry new oak, but there’s also a warning note of prune."

90 Points

Wine Enthusiast