2011 Bevan Cabernet Sauvignon Tin Box Vineyard

Meriting a three digit score, the 2011 Tin Box is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot from a hillside vineyard. It boasts a vivid perfume of acacia flowers and blueberry liqueur that bursts from the glass with vibrant purity as well as intensity. A magnificent red wine with unreal richness, full-bodied unctuosity, low acidity, and velvety tannins, this 2011 (aged in 100% new French oak) reveals few wood notes, and because of the vintage characteristics, can be drunk now or cellared for another 10-15 years. I continue to be blown away by the wines from Russell Bevan and his partner, Victoria de Cresenzo. (I’ll save my reviews of the Bevan Cellars wines from Sonoma appellations for the December issue when I will be writing an extensive report on that viticultural area.) These are by no means shy wines, but their richness and complexity are remarkable. Despite their massive size, concentration and density, they reveal tremendous polish, finesse and elegance. I tasted five barrel samples of 2012s, and all of them were almost beyond belief in their richness, bombastic fruit and remarkable intensity and purity combined with amazing polish and delineation. Two cuvees that have the potential to merit perfect scores include the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Harbison Vineyard (300 cases produced) from Oakville and the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard 6110 (225 cases) from Stags Leap. Tel. (707) 542-0123