2001 Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

(14.8% alcohol) Full ruby to the rim. A fruit essence on the nose: crushed blackberry and cassis complicated by tar and coffee. A highly concentrated fruit bomb, with smooth, bright berry flavors of uncanny sweetness. Very deep cabernet with excellent structure and persistence. Beginning with vintage 2002, all wines from this vineyard will be labeled "To-Kalon," with the hyphen.

In fact, the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon RBS tastes more like a 3-4 year old wine than one that has a decade of aging. Still tightly constructed, it offers notes of spring flowers, blueberries, black currants, lead pencil shavings and pen ink. This full-bodied, deep, concentrated, stunning, intense, rich, full-throttle 2001 is also wonderfully pure and elegant with outstanding balance. Give it another 4-5 years of cellaring and drink it over the next 25 years. ||Both of these wines performed even better than they did when I tasted them from bottle eight years ago.||Tel. (707) 942-1540 Wine Advocate.June, 2011