2008 TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Clone 337

(14.5% alcohol): Saturated ruby. A bit less open-knit on the nose than the Clone Six, conveying a rather brooding quality to its scents of blackberry, cassis, spices, licorice and minerals. Wonderfully concentrated, pliant, creamy-sweet wine with near-perfect balance and no rough edges. The very ripe cassis, dark chocolate and mineral flavors spread out to saturate the entire palate, with the firm but smooth tannins playing a supporting role without impinging on the wine's fruit. This wine was more backward at the outset than the Clone Six but its tannins have harmonized beautifully since then. In fact, this wine makes the Clone Six look a bit tight by comparison. Both of these beauties should go on for many years.

Solid red with blueberry and blackberry character on the nose and palate with a full body, with velvety tannins and a violet, lavender and mineral aftertaste. Enjoy or hold.

Good bright red-ruby. Less expressive on the nose than the Clone 6, hinting at minerals and licorice. Densely packed and tightly wound, with dark fruit and mineral flavors currently cut off by serious tannins. Less sweet and floral today than the Clone 6 example: this will probably need a good six to eight years in bottle to open up and express itself. The most backward of this superb trio of 2008 cabernets from the To Kalon Vineyard.