Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is extraordinary on the nose with cold stones, minerals, wet earth and fresh spices. Full body, incredible backbone of tannins, and great length. It really lasts for minutes. When you taste it, it brings you down to the root and soul of the wine. Extraordinary. This is what To Kalon is supposed to taste like. Pure cabernet sauvignon.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and again aged in 100% new oak. The production is slightly higher than the Dr. Crane at 500 cases. This opaque colored wine offers up blueberry liqueur, crème de cassis, coffee bean, roasted meats, and a floral note. It is rich, powerful, dense and primordial, but wow, is it spectacular! Produced from clones 4 and 337 of Cabernet, this is another 30-year effort and a great classic.
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Wine Spectator
A bold, rich expression of cedary oak–shaded Cabernet, with loamy earth, dark berry and spice notes that are deftly balanced but a long way from full maturity. The finish reveals tightfisted black and green olive flavors. Best from 2020 through 2033.
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.