Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Complex floral, black cherry, spice and currant aromas lead to a rich, polished, deftly balanced wine offering mature hints of anise and sage, and finishing with a long, lingering aftertaste that's supple and elegant.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is one of the finest efforts from Beaulieu in some time. Not since the mid-eighties has BV made a Private Reserve Cabernet with such richness and potential. The wine boasts a dark ruby/purple color, an attractive nose of sweet, toasty new oak, and ripe red and black fruits. In the mouth, there is a layered texture, full-bodied richness, excellent purity, and sweet tannin in the long finish. This wine can be drunk now as well as over the next 15-20 years. Bravo to BV!
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.