2006 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley

(includes 6% merlot) Good red-ruby. Redcurrant and plum on the nose, plus a dusty element that blew off with aeration. Juicy and nicely delineated, with black cherry and cedar flavors brightened by green peppercorn. A fresh style, finishing with firm-edged tannins that call for a year or two of patience. Knights Valley fruit brings higher acidity and rougher tannins, notes winemaker Laurie Hook. "We try to get ripeness without an overripe, jammy character," she said, adding that some St. Helena cabernet and merlot are blended in to give more mid-palate flesh to this wine.

The dark ruby/purple-tinged 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Knight’s Valley exhibits aromas of sweet black cherry and cassis fruit, chocolate, earth, and subtle smoky oak, medium to full body, and a seductive, round, silky texture. Enjoy it over the next decade. Beringer continues to turn out an impressive array of wines, proving that a gigantic global operation can be focused on quality and character. Beringer’s Pinot Noir program continues to show more and more promise. Beringer’s Cabernet Sauvignon program includes two outstanding bargains, one from Knight’s Valley and one from Napa. They are both serious Cabernet Sauvignons meant to be drunk young, but both are capable of lasting a decade or more. For their Private Club members, Beringer offers approximately 200 cases of all the single vineyards that go into their Private Reserve cuvee. I’ll keep my tasting notes brief since these wines are only available to Private Club members. However, it is always interesting that, aside from two or three of the single vineyards, the Private Reserve final blend is always the finest wine of the group. This has been proven time and time again at these tastings. Tel. (707) 963-7115; Fax (707) 963-1735