2009 Carter Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Another finesse-driven, Bordeaux-like wine from this cooler vintage, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard has ripe red and black currant-like fruits, smoked tobacco, and loamy earth in its medium to full-bodied, balanced, elegant style. As with the Grand Daddy, it has a beautiful sense of freshness, fine tannins, and a great finish. The purity of fruit is terrific, and it's drinking incredibly well today, yet should have another decade of prime drinking, and I suspect a gradual decline after that. This is pure Napa Valley Cabernet goodness.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Deep garnet in color, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard sashays out of the glass with flamboyant Chinese five spice, chocolate mint, hoisin and tapenade wafts over a core of crème de cassis, blueberry compote and cedar chest with a waft of balsamic. Full-bodied, concentrated and jam-packed with black berry preserves and exotic spices, it has a solid, chewy frame and bold freshness, finishing long with a minty kick.
The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard comes across as tight and inward at this stage. It offers up black fruit, minerals, grilled herbs and cassis, all wrapped around a powerful, intense frame. The tannins are quite firm and may need time in the cellar to soften. The Carter To Kalon is made from Block B, a parcel planted with the 337 clone that usually yields finessed, silky, aromatic Cabernets. This is one of the darker, more powerful wines from this part of the vineyard.