2007 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
There were close to 10,000 cases produced of the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve, which is an incredible wine any way you look at it. Based all on Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from a number of vineyards (mostly Bancroft Ranch and Steinhauer), it’s still deep purple-hued and has a stunning bouquet of crème de cassis, white truffle, damp earth, flowers, and bouquet garni that develops beautifully with time in the glass. While it still has plenty of baby fat and opulence, it’s at the early stages of maturity and has full-bodied richness, a layered, elegant texture, sweet tannins, and flawless balance. This is a brilliant, brilliant Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that’s going to continue drinking well for another two decades. Hats off to Berninger for delivering a wine at this quantity of this quality!
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Deep garnet colored with a hint of purple, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve sings of fragrant cassis, blackberry pie and plum preserves notes with sparks of kirsch, violets, chocolate box and allspice plus earthy wafts of truffles and underbrush. Full-bodied, rich and seductive in the mouth, the fruity flavors are just starting to evolve into tertiary earth and spice layers with a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and lively freshness, finishing with epic length.
(14.8% alcohol): Bright, dark ruby. Knockout nose combines wild blackberry, cassis, kirsch , animal fur, tobacco and leather scents. Plush, opulent and fine-grained but also has a Médoc-like peppery, herbal underpinning that energizes the flavors of black plum, blackberry and tropical dark chocolate. Plush but structured wine from a rich, generous year. Big, ripe tannins spread out to saturate the palate and front teeth. This wine makes the very good St. Helena bottling seem a bit dilute and dry by comparison. Gained in spiciness but also displayed a stronger green character with 24 hours in the recorked bottle.
(14.6% alcohol; 34% Bancroft, 33% Steinhauer, 8% Chabot, 8% Lampyridae, 6% St. Helena, 5% Marston, 3% Rancho del Oso and 3% Cabernet Franc): Dark red-ruby. Very primary aromas of blackberry, licorice pastille and mint. Juicy but totally unevolved, offering vibrant flavors of cassis, kirsch , blackberry, mint and crushed stone. Not a particularly fleshy wine but boasts a sexy chocolatey sweetness. Finishes firm, youthful and very long, with harmonious tannins. Compared to this wine, the 2006 is more tannic and also sweeter but this will eventually be silkier. Made mostly from mountain fruit.