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TASTING BERINGER CABERNET SAUVIGNON PRIVATE RESERVE: THE SBRAGIA CONNECTION On
a damp, rainy evening in a large tent pitched to the south of the Rhine House on
the Beringer Vineyard Estate in St. Helena, a small group of lucky wine
“connoisseurs” were treated to a rare 20 year vertical tasting of Beringer
Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve. Ed Sbragia, the winemaker, and Bob
Steinhauer, the vineyard manager, were present. THE WINERY
German-born Jacob and Frederick Beringer founded Beringer Vineyard in
1876 with the purchase of 215 acres in St. Helena, California. Frederick, the
older brother, built Villa Beringer, now known as the Rhine House, in the 1880s.
Preferring to live in the big city, San Francisco, Frederick opted to let his
little brother, Jacob call Beringer estate his home. Jacob moved into a modest
white-framed house now known as the Hudson House after its original owner, David
Hudson. His goal was to make wines of distinction unlike his neighbors who were
producing bulk wines. For 37 years Jacob managed Beringer’s vineyards and
winery cultivating varietals such as Riesling, Zinfandel, and Cabernet
Sauvignon. Beringer Brothers’ wines won medals at international competitions
and gained a reputation as one of the best California producers. Jacob died in
1915 and prohibition put a monkey wrench in the effort of California producers
to reach the level of wine production of the Europeans. It wasn’t until the
1960s that the Napa Valley began to turn things around and head toward the top
of the wine quality charts, becoming competitive with the French. Although the
vintages of the late sixties and decade of the seventies represented a huge
quality jump for Napa Valley wines, it wasn’t until the 1985 vintage that
sales of ultra-ultra-premium Cabs took center stage and Napa Valley
collectible/cult wines were born. Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
became one of those collectibles.
In 2001 Beringer Vineyards marked its 125th Anniversary
and Ed Sbragia, the winemaker, marked his 25th year with Beringer.
Thus, the 125/25 Anniversary Celebration.
Beringer Vineyards was recently acquired by Blass Wine Estates of
Australia and is now part of Beringer Blass Wine Estates,
which includes Chateau St. Jean, Chateau Souverain, St. Clement, Stag’s Leap
Winery, and Meridian Vineyards in California, Wolf Blass, Black Opal, Greg
Norman Estates, and The Rothbury Estates in Australia, Castello di Gabbiano,
Campanile, and Travaglini in Italy, and Vina Tarapaca in Chile. The U.S.
division sold 7.7 million cases of wine in 2000.
St. Helena Home Vineyard is
situated around the current winery and is planted entirely to Cabernet
Sauvignon. Fruit from this vineyard has been used in the blend since 1982.
Chabot Vineyard lies east of the
Silverado Trail and west of Bancroft and Tre Colline Vineyards. Its fruit was
used in the 1977 inaugural Private Reserve.
Bancroft Ranch lies at an elevation
of 1800 feet on the western slope of Howell Mountain. The fruit from this
vineyard produces intensely flavored wine.
Tre Colline Vineyard (three
hills) is situated at an elevation of 1800 feet northeast of the town of Angwin
in the Howell Mountain Appellation. First used in the 1993 blend, Tre Colline
produces intensely flavored, big, rich Cabernet Sauvignon. This is my personal
favorite Beringer vineyard.
Marston Ranch Vineyard is located
on Spring Mountain in St. Helena. The soils are of volcanic origin and
considered ideal for Bordeaux varietals.
THE WINEMAKER
In 1976, Beringer made one of its best hiring decisions ever in attaining
the services of 28 year old Ed Sbragia,
a native of Healdsburg, to assist in winemaking operations. Sbragia came to
Beringer with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of
California, Davis, and a Master’s degree in Enology from California State
University, Fresno. His mentor at Beringer was chief winemaker, Myron
Nightingale of botrytis fame. When
Nightingale retired in 1984, Sbragia became winemaker and the rest is history.
Sbragia celebrates his 25th anniversary with the winery as it enjoys
its 125th.
A very likeable, down to earth guy, Sbragia is true to his goal of
allowing the grape to dictate the winemaking. Without the best fruit, one could
not make the best wine. He gives lots of credit to his colleague, Bob
Steinhauer, who oversees vineyard operations, and is a Raider fan. Steinhauer
chidingly tells Sbragia that he’d better not screw up the winemaking because
he’s giving him the best fruit out there. Sbragia’s respect for Steinhauer
is evident when he calls, “Bob Steinhauer, a world class viticulturist and the
best partner one could hope for.” They’re a mutual admiration society, and
an extremely successful team! Other team members include Laurie Hook,
Winemaker, Jim Frisinger,
Director of North Coast Vineyards, and Ron Schrieve,
Winemaker for Beringer Founders Estate line. THE WINE
Sbragia has two legacies in progress at Beringer. One is Private Reserve
and Sbragia select Chardonnay, and the other is Private Reserve Cabernet
Sauvignon. Since California winemakers don’t receive much respect for making
Chardonnay, it is the Cabernet that has garnered Sbragia the most adulation.
In 1977 Nightingale and Sbragia made a Cabernet Sauvignon from Lemmon
Ranch grapes and the Private Reserve was born. (Lemmon Ranch is now known as
Chabot Vineyard.) A Private Reserve has been produced every year since 1977 with
the exception of 1979 when it was so hot that the Chabot vineyard grapes went
into photosynthetic shock and shut down before the grapes were ripe.
If Napa Valley had a classification system similar to the Médoc region
of Bordeaux, Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon would warrant
a First Growth designation.
It is one of the most venerable Cabernet Sauvignons of California.
BERINGER PRIVATE RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON: TASTING NOTES
I was fortunate enough to attend the 125/25 Anniversary tasting of
Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which took place on the Beringer
estate in St. Helena on a damp evening in November 2001. My
four favorite vintages of the 80s, in order of preference, are: 1987, 1986,
1984, 1983. My four favorite vintages of the 90s, in order of preference, are:
1997, 1994, 1991, 1992. The 1996 may
resolve into an excellent wine if the upfront tannins soften and recede in
favorite of the fruit. The 1995 is very tannic (astringent) and, the tannins
will continue to mask the fruit in perpetuity.
In reading the following tasting notes you will generally not have a
problem telling whether I liked a wine or not. J Unfortunately, I’ve observed that some wine writers love old,
oxidized wines, and, in fact, have probably never found a bottle labeled
“wine” that they don’t like. I, on the other hand, require some
resemblance to the beverage known as wine in my evaluation. During the tasting,
winemaker Ed Sbragia definitely indicated his favorites, the 1987,1991, 1994 and
1997 vintages among others, but was gentler in his descriptions of wines he
didn’t care for, which is understandable considering he’s the father of all
these wines.
The wines were tasted November 13, 2001 at the winery. They were not
decanted, but poured directly from bottle to glass. You will note that I only
used “pieces” of my CNFATE tasting system, and in some cases I only provided
a description. For example, the 1980 vintage states the color, C, as 4 and the
finish, E, as 1, because those were the most noteworthy descriptors for the
wine. 1977
Lemmon Ranch, 80 pts, C4N2F3+A?T2E2+:
Tired, red color; barnyard nose; still alive and drinkable, but on a downward
spiral. Drink now. Of historical interest since first Private Reserve produced
by Beringer. Lemmon Ranch (Chabot Vineyard) is a dry farm vineyard. It set the
standard for what the Private Reserve was suppose to be. 1978,
79 pts, C4N1F3-A3T3E2+:
Funky, lead pencil nose. Gritty mouth-feel. Still alive, but not showing
its best. On downward cycle. May have shown better if decanted. Made from 100%
Chabot Vineyard Cab. Drink now. 1979:
No private reserve produced. 1980,
Chabot Vineyard, 60 pts, C4E1:
Slightly stinky nose of animal and barn. Brown edges. Tastes bad.
Definitely down and out for the count. 1980,
State Lane, 50 pts: Two reserves were
produced in 1980. This one is inferior to the one above. Major brown edges.
Prune, oxidized nose. Yuck! Major cooked veggies. If you like this, you’ve
acquired a taste for something that’s no longer wine. Note: State Lane is in
southern Napa Valley, close to Carneros, and very herbal due to the cool
climate. 1981,
65 pts: First blended vintage. Brown
rim. Cooked veggie nose. Oxidized. Cooked flavors. Better than 1980.
Over-the-hill. 1982,
67 pts: Touch of onion on nose? Very
brickish in color with a flat finish, but not awful. Water, alcohol and tannin
remain—no fruit. St. Helena Home Vineyard came into the blend this year. 1983,
75 pts: Brickish
red color, but still alive. (That is, there’s still fruit present.) Nice juice
for an unheralded vintage. 1984,
88 pts, C3+N2+F3T3E3:
Good color with a brick red rim.. Mild earthy nose. A good wine that’s
at its apogee—drink now—won’t get better. 1985,
84 pts, F2+E2+: Slightly
stinkier nose than 84. Tannins dominating. Fruit disappearing. Drink now or
never. Will just get worse. I expected more from the 85, but this vintage seems
to be drying up. 1986,
92 pts, C4N2+F4T4E4TFR3: Slight veggie
nose. With great fruit and big tannins, this Cab has years to go. Superior to
the 1985. 1987,
95 pts, C4+E4-TFR1:
Deep red color with very slight discoloration. Very clean Cab nose.
Terrific balance of fruit and soft tannins. Contains 1% Cabernet Franc with 60%
of all fruit coming from the Bancroft Ranch. Classic vintage with intensity,
concentration and softness. Low yields. Significant sediment. Drink now. It’s
too good to wait. 1988,
75 pts: Very brickish red color.
Petroleum nose. Better in mouth. Drink or use in cooking. 1989,
80 pts, E3-: It rained during harvest.
Although nose is non-existent, this wine is still very much alive, although
simple and straightforward. The fruit will disappear soon. This was a very
tannic vintage, although the tannins in this Cab have mellowed somewhat over
time. 1990,
76 pts, C4E2: Too
tannic. Tannins are mouth puckering and slamming the fruit. The vineyard
composition is approximately 50% Bancroft Ranch, 25% Chabot, 25% St. Helena. It
contains 1% Cab Franc. 1991,
95 pts, C5F4T4+E4TFR3:
This is a real beauty exhibiting an opaque red color, and lush,
concentrated flavors. It’s still developing complexity, and although excellent
now, this baby will improve with time, gaining more complexity and a more
equilibrated finish. Without question, one of the three best vintages of the
90s. 1992,
90 pts, C4N2+F3+T4-E3+TFR3: A gritty,
muscular wine with good concentration of fruit and a solid finish. Many
excellent wines were produced in this overlooked vintage. If well-stored, this
vintage represents a good buy. 1993,
75 pts, C4F2+T4+E2:
Although the color is attractive, the tannins are beating up on the fruit
and will win the battle. The fruit will disappear long before the tannins
soften. 1994,
94+pts, C5-F4+T4+E4?TFR3: Possessing a
beautiful red color and closed nose, this very tannic Cab has gobs of lush fruit
and all the structural components of greatness. It needs time for the tannins to
soften and equilibration to occur with the fruit. At this stage of development,
the 1991 is better, BUT watch out in a few years. This was first year Tre
Colline vineyard (11%) showed up in the Private Reserve blend. Hold at least 2
years before trying. 1995,
88 pts?, C5-N3?F3T5-E3-?TFR3:
Generally a very tannic vintage where the tannins are kicking butt on the
fruit. Can this wine ever balance? Probably not. However, if it does equilibrate
favorably, 1995 will vie with the other great vintages of the 90s. Try again in
5 years. 1996,
90+?, C4: Lighter in color than other
90s with up front tannins and fruit behind. This wine has a good chance of
eventually balancing fruit and tannin. Could reach a favorable equilibrium in
several years. Tre Colline fruit predominates in the blend (52%). The 1996
vintage is better than advertised. 1997,
95+pts, C5F4+T4E4+?: This was my
favorite wine. Flaunting an opaque red color and closed nose, this amazing
creation contains tons of fruit melded into a significant tannic backbone that
still allows a beautiful show of fruit and future complexity. The budding
complexity is apparent as is the lush, rich, multi-layered flavors. This Cab has
incredible structure and, hence, ageability. It needs lots of time to reach its
full potential. Wait at least 2 years before trying again. January 7, 2002 |
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