Winemaker Notes
Missouri Hopper Vineyard sits on the Valley floor at the southern boundary of the Oakville AVA. This historic vineyard site is one of the oldest in the Napa Valley and its initial planting dates back to the late 1800’s. The 2017 vintage offered a bountiful yield, with near perfect growing conditions that allowed a long, slow ripening. The exceptional vintage offers generous fruit, excellent viscosity and pronounced but well integrated tannin structure. The 2017 Janzen Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper is a very decadent and age-worthy offering.
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
By Bacio Divino. Smelling specifically of black and red currants with sweet oak to spare and a wine that shows a good deal of layering and fruity depth from the very first sniff, this one is weighty and well-structured with a slightly tighter palatal feel and is ever so slightly leaner in fruity muscle than its mates. Though not in the least abrasive, it is a tad drying at the finish thanks to its obvious tannins and needs a good five or six years of cellaring in which to fully bloom.
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.