Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, USA, 2017

Grapes: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Merlot, multiple vineyard locations on Howell Mountain (Steinhauer Ranch, Bancroft Ranch, Mark Mondavi Ranch & Pauli) join fruit sourced from Saint Helena's Home Vineyard and Chabot Vineyard. Exceptional fruit from Oakville’s Borrow Pit Vineyard join contributions from Spring Mountain’s Marston Vineyard, Diamond Mountain’s Armstrong Ranch and Mount Veeder’s Derr Family Vineyard. Aged 20 months in French Nevers oak (80% new).

Producer Tasting Note:

A deeply coloured and rich wine with substantial backbone and structure will make this 2017 vintage continue to reward after years of careful cellaring. With bright notes of black currant and blackberries and a lush, juicy mouthfeel, this wine is also very approachable in its youth. Complex layers of black fruit and notes of cocoa powder, graphite and light smoky oak mingle well with notes of espresso and vanilla. The ripe tannins support a full structure with balanced acidity leaving a lingering, elegant finish.

To make these small-production Private Reserve wines, fifth-generation winemaker Mark Beringer chooses the best lots from our reserve vineyards in the Napa Valley, each demonstrating a different aspect of Napa’s prized terroir. Beringer’s Private Reserve wines have become famous as one of the truest expressions of a given vintage.

The Beringer reserve vineyards offer Cabernet Sauvignon of such quality that a minimalist approach to winemaking has long defined this special blend. Each vineyard is vinified separately and monitored carefully from the moment the fruit comes into the winery at Harvest. Tailored pump-over techniques are used for optimal extraction, and the wine is aged in hand-selected, custom-toasted barrels of new French Nevers oak (80% new). Each lot aged 20 months before selection of the final blend, to allow each vineyard to express the depth of its unique terroir.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Composed of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve springs from the glass with notions of red and black currant jelly, baker's chocolate, menthol and spice cake plus hints of violets, cedar and kirsch in the undercurrent. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals a firm, finely grained texture with tons of freshness backing up the generous fruit, finishing long and perfumed. 9,644 cases were made." Drink 2021-2035

94/100 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, WINE ADVOCATE, August 2020

"... the 2017 ‘Private Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon shows anise and creme de cassis aromatics that combine with chocolate covered espresso bean, graphite and blueberry compote, showing an exotic edge. The palate is impeccably balanced, showing both depth, concentration, verve and power. Layers of creosote, blueberry compote, mocha and creme de cassis, with silky tannins all sing in unison. Gorgeous in its youth, this beautiful wine really needs a few more years of bottle age before enjoyment." Drink 2022-2045

96/100 points, Owen Bargreen, November 2020 

"Thick and concentrated in dense layers of cedar, pencil shaving and currant, this reserve-worthy wine is substantial in body wight and power, with considerable oak impact, as it was aged 20 months in 80% new French oak. Still, it shows remarkable underlying beauty, complexity and structure. It is a blockbuster that will do well in the cellar. Enjoy best from 2027 through 2037."

95/100 points, Virginie Boone, WINE ENTHUSIAST, March 2021

Also awarded 98/100 points by James Suckling and, in 2020, #8 in the Top 100 wines