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Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Beringer Vineyards, Napa Valley, United States

Beringer Vineyards
Napa Valley United States
  • 91
    Points
  • The 1 738 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 1 Pros of
    2 recommend
    this wine
17 91
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    461

  • Producer ranking ?

    40

  • Decanting time

    2h

  • When to drink

    2020-2035

  • Food Pairing

    Game

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The Story

Knights Valley is the easternmost appellation of Sonoma. Its situation just east of the small Chalk Hill AVA (where Chalk Hill Winery makes fine chardonnays) and the much warmer Alexander Valley AVA, where some great full bodied zinfandels and cabernets are made, makes it even further away from the cooling breezes of the Pacific. Hence the very warm and arid conditions for the vines, which tends to produce thick skinned, well structured full b...

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Written Notes

This is normally a pure Cabernet Sauvignon, but in some vintages some Cabernet Franc and even some Petit Verdot may be added to the blend. Winemaker Laurie Hook, who has been with Beringer since 1986 and for 20 years worked with the great winemaker Ed Sbragia, told me they sometimes also blend in some percent of Cabernet Sauvignon from their Home Ranch in St Helena, just to soften the tannins of the Knights Valley cabernets. The wine is fermented in steel tanks and raised in 35-40 percent new French oak barrels for 18 months (in the early years, 60 percent of the barrels were new, and the wine then spent 22 months in them - todays version is much finer).
The color is very dark and youthful, and the offers a ripe and rich, still pleasant and elegant nose with dark cherries, cassis, just a touch of wood and a kind of stony earthiness that remind me of the volcanic dust in the air of the region.
For sure this is a very serious wine that easily can compete with much more expensive wines of Napa Valley, the structure is important, tannins are young and very firm, acidity good and lively and the mineral notes present. At this young stage, the wine needs a lot of air to open up, or even better some more years of bottle age. Although the fruit is ripe and slightly sweetish, there is a lovely bitterness (a sense of walnuts, but not aldehydes) in the lingering aftertaste, as well as just a dash of grassy notes, which I find very attractive.
One detail that really impresses me, is that Beringer actually makes 60 000 to 80 000 cases of this wine every year. Also, the price is very attractive – it’s easily one of the best values from the north coast of California!

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  • 91p

Almost opaque, thin ruby rim, cabernet flavours big time, paprika, blackcurrants, touch of coffee, but not too complex. Fresh, quite mouthwatering, plums, chocolate, to be honest. The first glass was why bother....second, starting to be ok, third glass, and I actually liked it, it opened up nicely. Good tannin grip and length. 87

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  • 87p
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Information

Origin

California, Napa Valley

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