Winemaker Notes
Blend: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, 2% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
So much dark berry, dried berry, matchstick and iodine here. Plus intense aromas of black currants and black berries. So floral. Full-bodied with firm and compacted tannins that are super polished and balanced. Very long and linear. The tightness, focus and complexity harks back to the 1990s but the purity and transparency is today. September 2024 release. 80% cabernet sauvignon, 12% cabernet franc, 6% merlot, and 2% malbec. Best after 2026.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship from Beringer, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is from a mix of sites and is based on 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, 2% Malbec brought up all in barrel. Its deep ruby/plum hue is followed by rock-solid aromatics of darker currants, chocolate, leafy herbs, and lead pencil shavings. It's a classic 2021 on the palate and has a more inward, concentrated mouthfeel, ripe yet building tannins, ample mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It's holding things relatively close to its vest at the moment, yet it clearly has potential. Hide bottles for 4-5 years if you can, and it's going to have well over two decades of prime drinking.
Rating: 96+ -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A reliably high-quality wine year after year, Beringer's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve incorporates lots from across the single-vineyard range—Bancroft Ranch, Borrow Pit, Chabot, Home Ranch, Lampyridae and Steinhauer Ranch. Rich blueberry fruit is joined by cassis and black cherries, punched up by hints of sage and pine. It's full-bodied, concentrated and tannic, with a long, silky textured finish. This vintage, the blend is composed of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot and 2% Malbec. Give it a few years in the cellar, and drink it over the next two decades.
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Wine Spectator
This is ripe and generous in feel, as the core of succulent boysenberry and blackberry compote sparkles with energy, throwing off additional anise, apple wood and sweet bay hints. There's a flash of iris on the finish, which is driven by racy acidity. Best from 2025 through 2040.
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Wine Enthusiast
Generous, full bodied and lush, this wine tastes of black plum, dark cocoa and sweet spices, with impressive persistence and palate-filling presence. Powdery-fine tannins coat the mouth and carry into a lengthy finish.
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.