Winemaker Notes
Royally rich in purple hues, this highly concentrated, intensely flavored wine offers rich and deep, dark fruits with blueberries, black cherries, blackberry and cherry jam, accented with dark chocolate, herbs and cassis. Full-bodied, with fine grained tannins and distinctive oak notes, finishing with mineral accents and a lively lift.
Blend: 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is very polished and extremely reserved. Medium-to full-bodied, cool and balanced. Lavender, dark fruit and a flavorful finish. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley Reserve offers more purity as well as structure. A vineyard selection mostly from the southern end of the estate property in Knights Valley, its deep purple color is followed by classic cassis and blueberry fruits intermixed with hints of damp earth, violets, and subtle minerality. It’s ripe and voluptuous on the palate, but has building structure, beautiful mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It’s a beautiful wine that has two decades of longevity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Knights Valley (containing a 2% splash of Malbec) was aged for 15 months in 32% new French oak. Deep purple-black in color, it sings of crème de cassis, black cherries and black berry preserves with touches of camphor, dark chocolate and wood smoke. Full-bodied, firm and finely grained, the palate has loads of mineral accents with black fruit layers, finishing with a lively herbal lift.
As California's longest continuously operating winery, Beringer has been defining Napa Valley winemaking since it was founded by Jacob and Frederick Beringer in 1876. By continuing that pioneering spirit, Beringer established many 'firsts' as leaders in the wine industry. They were one of the first gravity fed facilities and among the first to operate using hand dug caves and cellars. Beringer were the first to give public tours in 1934, starting a Napa Valley hospitality tradition. They are the first and only winery to have both a red and a white wine named #1 Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator Magazine. Today, they proudly celebrate and remain true to their pioneering legacy.
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.
A small and picturesque valley separating Napa Valley on its south border and Alexander Valley to its north, Knights Valley excels in similar varieties as the two aforementioned appellations, namely red Bordeaux varieties and blends, as well as Sauvignon blanc. Originally established by Beringer Vineyards, today several outstanding producers claim acreage here. The circadian cooling effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean create a nighttime respite for vineyards during the hot growing season.