Winemaker Notes
The 2023 Black Magic leans toward the darker more brooding end of a wine’s fruit profile. Very complex notes of spiced black plum, cassis, along with hints of cardamom, anise, a sense of petrichor, with notes of bitter chocolate, espresso, and graphite. It’s somehow intense and powerful, yet elegant and lithe on the palate. This will definitely be drinkable on release, but like a coiled spring, time in the bottle will unveil its full potential. If Pure Magic is the beauty, Black Magic is the beast.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A super dense, layered and structured wine that's built for the ages. It’s sleek yet powerful, packed with tannins and equally powerful black fruit, with accents of minerals and cocoa. The most concentrated, muscular and robust of Tor's lineup in 2023, sourced from Beckstoffer To Kalon, Vine Hill Ranch and this year some Pritchard Hill grapes. Cabernet sauvignon with 12% cabernet franc. Best after 2030.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged 21 months in 67% new French oak, the 2023 Black Magic represents a best barrel selection blend offering vibrant blue fruits, cassis, liquid violets, graphite, camphor, and sappy floral notes. It's incredibly concentrated, with a seamless, ultra-pure, focused mouthfeel and notable freshness and acidity in a seamless, sensational, full-bodied style. It needs 4-6 years of cellaring but will keep for 40 years. Drink 2029-2065.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A barrel selection and blend, Tor's 2023 Black Magic boasts some ethereal floral notes layered atop a base of black cherries and cassis. It's medium- to full-bodied, rich and concentrated yet still fresh, with a lingering finish that's simultaneously velvety-tannic and mouthwatering. Collectors fortunate enough to have this and the Pure Magic will have fun debating their considerable merits over the next two or three decades.
Rating: 97+ -
Vinous
The 2023 Black Magic is a blend from Melanson, Vine Hill Ranch and To Kalon. Sumptuous black-toned fruit, gravel, licorice, menthol and chocolate build nicely, growing into a crescendo of aromas, flavors and textures that is truly captivating. It's one of the wines of the vintage at Tor.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.