Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A sensational wine from the talents of Mark Carter and winemaker Mike Smith, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras La Verdad (Verdad means "truth" in Spanish) is a powerful mammoth of a wine that somehow manages to stay graceful, balanced, and elegant. Possessing a killer nose of crème de cassis, crushed rocks, graphite, damp earth/gravelly minerality, and tobacco leaf, it has off the charts purity of fruit, full body, a powerful, layered yet weightless texture, and a finish that just won't quit. This beauty has everything you could want from a wine and needs an hour or so in a decanter today to become approachable, but it will cruise for 2-3 decades in cool cellars. It's a tour de force in winemaking and absolutely as good as it gets.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard La Verdad has a very deep purple-black color and reveals slightly subdued, youthful notes of crushed blueberries, warm black cherries and mulberries with hints of blackcurrant cordial, stewed black tea, wilted roses and fragrant soil. Wow—the palate explodes with very primary yet incredibly exciting, densely packed muscular black fruits, framed with a brick house of super ripe tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and incredibly cerebral. Yes, yes, yes!
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.