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Blended with 5% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard boasts a deep purple hue as well as a thrilling perfume of blue fruits, graphite, sweet tobacco, and spring flowers. It’s another rich, concentrated, powerful 2021 delivering building, ripe, silky tannins, flawless overall balance, and incredible length on the finish. For the tech sheet geeks out there, this came from multiple blocks, was fermented in a mix of wood and concrete, and spent 22 months in 74% new French oak.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Lithology Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is a very sexy wine. Rich, pliant and super-expressive, the 2021 races across the palate, showing exceptional balance and finesse. Inky dark fruit, crème de cassis, chocolate, new leather, licorice and lavender are beautifully delineated throughout. Bright acids and sweet floral top notes brighten the finish.Vinous Media | 97 VMSo much black currant with terra-cotta and lead pencil. Very intense. Full to medium body, with firm and refined tannins. Like a block. But there is a form and seriousness here that gives this solid tannins and muscles. A blend of 90% cabernet sauvignon and 10% cabernet franc.James Suckling | 97 JSThere are 350 cases of the 2021 Lithology Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, which includes 5% Cabernet Franc. There’s a lively dusting of dried spices and dusty earth over the top of mixed red and black cherries on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is concentrated and elegantly framed by softly dusty tannins that fade away slowly on the lingering finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPA barrel sample of the Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon reveals an immense wine, well-endowed with powerfully structured tannins and an opulence of inky black fruit with plenty of wild herbs, cedar, coffee-bean and dried floral nuances that are still melding together. I will re-taste in early 2024. Winemaker Matt Sands relayed to me that consultant Michel Rolland thinks that 2021 is “the vintage of the century” for Napa Valley Cabernet.Decanter Magazine | 96 DEC

This is a single-vineyard expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Phoenix Vineyard surrounding the Matthiasson winery, situated on an east-facing steep hillside at the base of Mt. Veeder, on a promontory of rare ancient marine shale soils overlooking the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley. Texturally and aromatically, it is so different from the Dead Fred Cabernet. This is super light and floral-driven and more like a Nebbiolo. It’s aged in foudre to preserve the fresh fruit quality. Multiple picks ensure ripeness and some are whole cluster pressed. It’s so pretty and pure it’s almost like mineral water that’s been flavoured. The wine has a natural grip and is laser-focused and linear. It is the epitome of elegance and a classy wine in a class of its own. During my tasting with Steve, he added some colour to the Phoenix Vineyard, explaining that it was planted in 1982, with more vines added in the late 1980s. The Cabernet Sauvignon is an old field selection massale from Mt. Veeder, with the oldest vines on AXR rootstock (sadly susceptible to Phylloxera) and next to those grapes, the same selection is grafted to 5BB, a slightly more drought-tolerant rootstock, which handles the hillside. Matthiasson bought the site in 2017, and the farms it organically and without irrigation. A delicious wine that will last for half a century.Decanter Magazine | 99 DECA technically light-bodied wine with delicious ripe fruit, great acid balance and moderate tannins to preserve it for many years while more complexity develops. Red cherries, blackcurrants, bay leaves and baked earth nuances build on the palate and linger on the finish. Best from 2028.James Suckling | 96 JS

Another release from St. Helena, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard comes from a rockier site not far from Dr. Crane (and Spottswoode), on the west side of the valley. Its saturated purple hue is followed by a slightly more floral/violet-tinged profile including black and blue fruits, notes of spring flowers, graphite, and earthy minerality, full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, and a gorgeous texture that keeps you coming back to the glass. It too will evolve for three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDAbsolutely seductive, with incredible polish, precision, and opulence. Lead with youthful blue and black fruit aromatics. Full and plush on the palate with chocolaty tannins that are finely grained, imprinted with a palate-saturating richness of sweet, ripe, black cherry, blackberry and plum fruits, nuanced by tobacco, and a distinct earthy and chalky minerality that penetrates the senses from the nose to the finish.Decanter Magazine | 98 DECPlenty of pretty fruit, with blackberries, blackcurrants and hints of flint. Full-bodied with lots of fruit, but the polished tannins hem this in so beautifully. Graphite shines through. Polished tannins for La Piedras. Needs four to six years of bottle age. Drink after 2030.James Suckling | 98 JSThere’s a bit more oak influence evident in the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard than in Hobbs’s other Cabernets, but it works, those vanillin and almost buttery characters adding complexity and depth to the ripe black cherries and earth aromas. Full-bodied and plush, almost accessible despite the masses of soft tannins, the wine finishes long and velvety. Sexy stuff.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPNotes of gorgeously ripe boysenberry, mulberry and blackberry puree stream through this serious Cab. Flanked by applewood and underscored with a well-buried cast iron spine, this wine is saturated but not bombastic, with a grip-filled yet fruit-redolent finish. Best from 2026 through 2040. 320 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard is the most vibrant of three Beckstoffer wines in this range. Graphite, savory herbs, menthol, licorice, espresso and licorice abound in this potent, massively structured Cabernet. This is classic Las Piedras done in a modern, lush style.Vinous Media | 94 VM

All Cabernet Sauvignon from specific hillside blocks on the estate, Shafer’s 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select spent 28 months in 100% new French oak. It’s a big, ripe wine, weighing in at 15.5% alcohol, but it remains harmonious from front to back. Deep, intense aromas of black cherries and cassis are accented by dried spices on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is rich and textural, showing tremendous intensity and length on the finish. Based on how previous examples have aged, this vintage should drink well through 2050.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPAged 32 months in 100% new French oak. It is quintessentially Stags Leap, with grapes grown on Shafer’s famous Hillside estate vineyard, roughly 25ha, with very shallow volcanic tufa soils. It’s a barrel selection of the very best blocks. A total of 2,900 cases were produced. Such a beautifully balanced wine with tremendous staying power and expressive Stags Leap ironstone minerality with heady sagebrush and conifer notes with white pepper and walnut husk. The wine has an impressive depth of red-toned fruit on the mid-palate framed by tannins that practically dance across the palate, exuding length, tension, and power. Huckleberry and black cherry fruits, black truffle, dried violets, graphite, and salted dark chocolate are all framed by racy acidity, which keeps everything fresh and lifted. The 2021 releases mark Elias Fernandez’s 38th vintage as Shafer’s winemaker. He was hired by John Shafer in 1984, two weeks out of UC Davis.Decanter | 99 DECThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a lot of shaking to bring out notes of crème de cassis, blackberry pie, and kirsch, leading to nuances of dried roses, star anise and cardamom with a hint of cigar box. The full-bodied palate is decadently concentrated with firm grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long with loads of exotic spices and mineral sparks.The Wine Independent | 98As always, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that will spend 28 months in new barrels. Its deep purple hue gives way to a behemoth of a wine that has incredible cassis, black raspberry, and even blue fruits to go with loads of camphor, minty herbs, graphite, and darker chocolate. It’s full-bodied, concentrated, yet pure, flawlessly balanced, and has a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Floral and vibrant, the 2021 sizzles with tension and a level of delineation I don’t remember seeing in the past. Like all the 2021s here, the Hillside Select possesses notable purity of fruit and exceptional balance. The tannins need to soften a touch, but time should take care of that. I don’t see the opulence or inner sweetness of most years, but that is not a negative at all.Vinous Media | 96-99 VMJuicy and direct, with a solidly built core of cassis and blackberry preserves lined with cocoa, singed tobacco and warm earth hints. Leans toward toasty on the finish, but there’s ample fruit. Best from 2025 through 2038. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 2,900 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2022 Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was one of Realm’s first harvests that year, coming in just before the early September heat hit. The blend is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it shoots from the glass with bold notes of fresh blackberries and blackcurrants, plus hints of crushed rocks, dried sage, and fragrant earth. The medium to full-bodied palate is electric with black fruit and mineral layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins and incredible tension, finishing long and earthy. This is on the crunchier side of Dr. Crane fruit, and I love it!The Wine Independent | 99 TWIThe 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is terrific. It shows the natural richness of the year, but its balance is better vis-à-vis the To Kalon, as evidenced by the lifted, bright aromatics and mid-palate pliancy. I admire the energy and vibrancy here. Rose petal, lavender, spice and blood orange are beautifully amplified. Bright acids pull it all together on the close. The Dr. Crane is one the finer wines in the range this year.Vinous Media | 95 VM

The 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Vixen Block Wildfoote Vineyard represents the last vintage Bevan received fruit from the site, following the purchase of the property by Shafer Vineyards. It’s a fitting send-off, delivering seamless, complex swirls of purple raspberries, fine suede and lovely floral notes. Full-bodied yet silky, it’s framed by fine-grained tannins, which wash gently across the long, generous finish. The wine neatly captures the complexity and textures of the Stags Leap District, wrapping the tannins in an elegant final bow.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPMore blue fruits, crème de cassis, liquid violets, and scorched earth, as well as a beautiful floral character, define the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Wildfoote Vineyard Vixen Block. It’s a full-bodied Cabernet with fine, polished tannins, flawless overall balance, and a blockbuster of a finish. This ripe, sexy wine still plays in the fresher, focused style of the vintage and is good for 20-25 years of prime drinking. Drink 2025-2050.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Wildfoote Vineyard Vixen Block is inky, deep and pliant. Rich blue fruit, licorice, spice, menthol and lavender are all dialed up in this unctuous, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon from Russell Bevan. This is classic Stags Leap, done in a decidedly extroverted style. Sweet floral notes explode on the captivating finish.Vinous Media | 97 VM

Black cherries, currants, leather, savory herbs, and a beautiful sense of minerality all emerge from the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Tierra Rioja Vineyard. I love its remarkable purity and freshness, and on the palate, it’s full-bodied with flawless overall balance, building ripe tannins, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It’s an incredibly structured, layered, impressive beauty that deserves 4-5 years of bottle age. Drink 2029-2049.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JD