TOR Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
- v98-100
- jd99
- iwt97
- js97
Category | Red Wine |
Varietals | |
Brand | TOR |
Origin | California, Napa Valley |
Beckstoffer To Kalon continues to receive worldwide accolades and has been said to be the most famous vineyard in Napa Valley. The site is set along a gentle slope on the western foothills of the Oakville Appellation. Topsoils are Bale loan/Bale clay loam and running through the middle and west side of the vineyard are remnants of ancient streambeds riddled with rock. For the last decade, we have worked with six blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon and two blocks of Cabernet Franc. Each vintage tells a different story, and the best wines can either be single blocks or blends of blocks.
WINEMAKING: Often our To Kalons show a lot more fruit or "flesh" at this stage, but this one is darker and deeper than most we have made from our eight blocks in To Kalon. Maybe this is because we thin each vine to one cluster per shoot, and most probably it will be evolving for a very long time. Matured in 100% Darnajou small French oak barrels for twenty months and bottled without fining or filtration.
WINEMAKER'S TASTING NOTES: 2019 To Kalon Cabernet is truly unlike any other To Kalon we have made in 20 years. This year's wine includes the largest percentage of Cabernet Franc that we have ever had in a To Kalon and wow what that did! This year's version has all of the depth and richness that you expect from a To Kalon Cabernet but with much more refined tannins and slight rosewater, tobacco edge that is not normally there. In addition, the lift and freshness that the addition of the Franc added make this perhaps the most food-friendly To Kalon we have ever made. As great as past To Kalons have been it is very hard to single this out as the best but in a few years, I would not be surprised to see it there.
Wine Advocate 96 Points "A barrel sample, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Kalon has a deep garnet-purple color and bursts with black cherry preserves, blackcurrant jelly, and boysenberries scents plus suggestions of pencil shavings, dusty soil, cinnamon stick, and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate has loads of lively black fruit and earthy flavors with a firm, grainy texture, and long savory finish.
Vinous
- v98-100
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon is outrageously beautiful. Dark and dense to the core, the 2019 is an explosive wine endowed with remarkable depth. Creme de cassis, lavender, graphite and inky blue fruit saturate the palate as this sumptuous, dazzling Cabernet captivates all the senses. The 2019 is a wine of tremendous energy and class. This is the first vintage in which the team felt the Pure Magic lots worked best in the To Kalon wine. Tasting this barrel sample, it's hard to argue with that choice. The 2019 is seriously off the charts.
Jeb Dunnuck
- jd99
Monster amounts of black raspberry, cassis, and blueberry fruits as well as notes of flowery incense define the nose of the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, and its pure To Kalon magic on the palate, possessing full-bodied richness, a voluptuous, layered mid-palate, and sweet tannins. Pure sex in a bottle, it's going to drink nicely right out of the gate yet have two decades (or more) of prime drinking.
International Wine Report
- iwt97
The 2019 Beckstoffer To Kalon is simply marvelous. It instantly bursts open with stunning aromatics of blackberries and black cherries which are woven together with tobacco, pencil shavings, sweet spices, and herbs all bursting from the glass. On the palate, this is full-bodied and beautifully structured with gorgeous round, polished tannins. This possesses incredible concentration and focuses as well as remarkable overall balance. It goes on to impress with its ripe core of delicious dark fruits and savory flavors. Everything comes together seamlessly on the long expansive finish as it continues to linger effortlessly. This is already showing tremendously well from the barrel and it should be ready for business once in bottle.
James Suckling
- js97
Blackberries and blackcurrants with violets and lavender on the nose, following through to a full body with tight, integrated tannins that are polished and refined. Lovely length. Dusty, fine tannins. Try after 2024.