1993 Beringer "Private Reserve" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

A more mineral-dominated wine, the 1993 Private Reserve offers notes of cedarwood, black cherries, black currants, damp earth, underbrush and forest floor. It is the product of a lower than normal crop, some shatter during berry set and a general reduction of fruit by nearly 30% in some vineyards. August and September alternated between cool periods and large heat spikes. (RP)

Beringer has not received enough credit over the years for the success of its flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, and yet it always seems to show well with age when others are beginning to break down. In this vintage, it has come further than any of the wines tasted, and it now features complex cedary, lightly herbal and dried currant aromas whose fruit may have diminished over time but whose energy and richness continue apace. And it is much the same in the mouth where its polished, supple entry leads into still alive flavors and noticeable tannins. *Two Stars*