Winemaker Notes
This historic vineyard is located on the valley floor at the southern boundary of the Oakville AVA. The light gravely loam is absolutely perfect for growing premium, world class Cabernet. 2021 turned out a smaller than average harvest, particularly from Missouri Hopper with very small berries and great skin to juice ratios.
Explosive black and red fruit envelope the palette with aromatic notes of tar, tobacco and cassis. Incredibly dense and decadent.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
From the Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper vineyard in Oakville. Aged 28 months in 100% new French oak. Mostly in Taransaud barrels, for winemaker Kirk Venge, lends a pretty maple note. This is a wonderfully dark-fruited wine with lifted cedarwood notes tinged with caramel and toffee spices with hints of graham cracker crust. The tannins take on a sappy quality but are super fine-grained. For Venge's approach, oak is very important in the tannins it delivers. In these Beckstoffer Heritage Vineyards, the tannins back up the fruit's intensity and deliver it towards a lengthy finish. The oak will integrated with time, and I'd suggest not touching these until late 2025. Claus Janzen, the founder, is from Canada. Kyle Janzen, the second generation, is the co-owner and GM. Kirk Venge began making wine in 2003 for Bacio Divino, which means 'divine kiss' in Italian.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Travelers venturing north of Yountville on Highway 29 will no doubt have seen the prominent sign for this vineyard on the left-hand side, just before Brix restaurant. This year's Bacio Divino-Janzen version (Janzen is the family name of the proprietors) is a silky textured beauty that doesn't lack for stuffing. Scents of cherries, cedar and mint appear on the nose of the 2021 Janzen Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Cabernet Sauvignon, while the full-bodied palate is concentrated and compact yet silky in texture, with a lingering, tannic finish.
Rating: 95+ -
Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from a valley floor site just south of Vine Hill Ranch, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Janzen Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard reveals a dense purple hue as well as a complex, medium to full-bodied profile offering both red and black plum-like fruit as well as notes of spicy incense, leather, sage, and orange-like aromas and flavors. It's nicely balanced, has ripe tannins, and outstanding length. I don't see this matching prior vintages, yet it's clearly an outstanding wine meriting 4-5 years of bottle age, and it should evolve for two decades.
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.