2016 Beringer & Kapcsandy Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend Horizontal

“Another wine that flirts with perfection is the 100% Merlot 2016 Roberta's Reserve, which was harvested at the end of September and spent 20 months in 70% new barrels. I finished my note on this wine with 'Best Merlot in the New World,' and I can't think of another wine that comes close to the layered, balanced, majestic style of this beauty. Offering up a kaleidoscope of black cherries, damp earth, chocolate, cedarwood, and spring flowers, it's full-bodied and rich, yet just glides over the palate with a seamless, elegant, pure style that needs to be tasted to be believed. As with all the Kapcsandy wines, it has the purity and balance to offer pleasure in its youth yet is going to evolve beautifully.” (01/2019)

“The deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Roberta's Reserve State Lane Vineyard has a totally seductive nose of Indian spices, fruitcake and sandalwood over a core of preserved plums, dried mandarin peel, blackberry pie and blueberry compote with a touch of cedar chest. The palate is medium to full-bodied with gorgeous plush tannins and balancing freshness supporting the boldly spicy black fruit preserves, finishing very long. (LPB)” (10/2018)

“The 2016 Roberta's Reserve is a powerful, dense wine with serious tannic clout. Beams of supporting tannin give the wine energy and drive. Reticent at first, the Roberta's fleshes out on the mid-palate and finish, where the succulence and intensity of the fruit is most apparent. Super-ripe red cherry, kirsch, pomegranate and dried flowers meld into the resonant, substantial finish. There is so much to the 2016. (AG) 97+” (12/2018)

“Breathtaking. Exceptional integration of super ripe blackberries and the very finest oak. The tannins build up beautifully, forming wave upon wave as the wine flows across the palate. Then the wave breaks on your palate and shoots way out at the finish, so that you wonder where it will end and normal life begin again. Needs time to soften, but this is so, so good.” (02/2019)

“As with the 2015, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve shows the vintage beautifully and is more pure, classic, and elegant. Notes of crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and freshly crushed rocks give way to a medium to full-bodied, seamless Cabernet that has remarkable purity of fruit and impeccable balance. 97+” (01/2019)

“Composed of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot aged for 20 months in 83% new French oak, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve sings of crème de cassis, kirsch, blackberry preserves and blueberry pie, with loads of chocolate box, floral and baking spices hints. Full-bodied with a firm, chewy frame and loads of savory accents, it delivers a long, multilayered finish. (LPB)” (10/2018)

“The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is superb. Rich, deep and explosive, with tremendous density, the 2016 possesses notable character and breeding. The 2016 is a dark, muscular wine that will drink well for many years once it recovers from its recent bottling. A blast of dark cherry, plum, chocolate, leather and menthol punctuates the finish. Steinhauer and Bancroft Ranch form the core of the 2016. (AG) 95+” (12/2018)

“Dust and sage color this bold, powerful wine, which is layered and complex in its ripeness and structure. Weighty in oak and tannin, it shows an expanse of rich red fruit, from cassis to current, with seasonings of cocoa dust, espresso and cigar. *Cellar Selection* (VB)” (11/2019)

“Juicy and engaging, with lots of raspberry, blackberry and black currant fruit flavors pumping along, laced with licorice and fruitcake notes and backed by a lively, bramble-edged finish. (JM)” (10/2019)