Winemaker Notes
A beautiful iteration from this legendary Oakville vineyard, the 2017 To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon is exotic and racy, with complex spice notes on the nose along with violets, lavender and hints of tapenade. The palate is full and layered yet delicate, with flavors of blackberry pie, licorice, cherry preserve, cassis and wet clay minerality, Plush tannins carry through the long captivating finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I also loved the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, which has a more exotic, in-your-face style as well as more notes of blue fruits, flowery incense, violets, and spice. Full-bodied, balanced, and elegant, it too has a great mid-palate, nicely integrated oak, and some chalky minerality on the finish. Drink bottles any time over the coming 15 years or more.
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James Suckling
A big and rich To Kalon, yet it is dry and attractively tannic with lots of crushed-berry and terra-cotta character. It’s broad-shouldered and spread across the palate. Give it time. 81% cabernet sauvignon and 19% cabernet franc. Better after 2021.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc aged 22 months in 100% new French Taransaud and Sylvain barrels, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon is very deep garnet-purple colored and gives up expressive Black Forest cake, blackberry pie and warm cassis notes with wafts of exotic spices, tree bark, underbrush and charcuterie with a touch of tapenade. Full-bodied, the palate has loads of earthy accents complementing the black fruit core, with a firm grip of chewy tannins, finishing on a mineral note.
Rating: 93+
Over thirty years in the making, Amici Cellars is a blend of the old and the new. Preserving its legacy and producing wines of exceptional character is the unwavering commitment of proprietors John Harris and Bob Shepard, who attribute success in large part to the age-old adage “nothing replaces hard work,” but also their intuition and ability to capture the most significant opportunity in a decisive moment.
The turning point was 2009, when after more than 15 years of making wine as a passion project with modest distribution, the two friends fully committed to taking their adventure and turning it into a prestigious Napa Valley winemaking estate. The United States was facing the biggest economic downturn since the 1930s, costly Cabernets no longer flying off shelves, but John and Bob have always trusted in their intuition and a core belief - bottle beautiful, high quality wines that are accessible to enjoy every day and for age-worthy collections.
They have decidedly chosen a talented team, seasoned winemaker Tony Biagi, a Napa Valley veteran with more than 25-years-experience, and associate winemaker Dante West, a rising star whose energy matches his true-to-varietal wines. Together they bring decades of relationships with outstanding growers in the field that, combined with their craftsmanship, creates the best possible capsule of each vineyard site, a combination of the soil, climate and people who farm it.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.