Corporate types never seem to tire of creating new SKUs. Beringer already has a few different Cabernet bottlings. We went to their website and started counting, quitting when we got to 30. So why not one more? We had not seen the Cabernet Sauvignon Distinction Series before this 2016, nor could we find a review on a vintage before this (though there was a 2014 on the Beringer site). So we’ll say this is not the first, just the first for us. It is packaged in a black label that is a different design than their Knight’s Valley.
So what is it? Good question. From the winery, “Beringer’s Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is an enticing expression of this varietal and the depth and complexity of flavor it can exhibit when grown in the right place. Select vineyards and blocks from AVAs up and down the valley are used to craft a wine that is the quintessential expression of Napa Valley terroir.” That doesn’t really tell us a lot but it wasn’t the marketing that caused us get interested in this, it was the juice itself. Whatever they called it, they clearly had bigger intensions for this one, as evidenced by the $65 price on the website.
Deep, saturated color leaning toward black, a big nose of cocoa, vanilla and toasty oak along with cassis and dark cherry, it prepares you for what’s coming. With air, insistent spice notes started to emerge and the well ‘seasoned’ fruit making a big impression across the palate. This is big, dark, expressive Cab from a vaunted vintage. Yes this winery makes a lot of wine, but they have wherewithal to make some rocking Cab when they have a mind, too. To be clear, no one is going to confuse this with something European. This is unabashedly Californian and we were taken with its power and balance and thought we’d pass the message along.
It got some love from Wine Advocate’s Lisa Perotti-Brown who wrote, “The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Distinctions is blended of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petite Sirah, aged in 35% new French oak for 20 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, it bursts from the glass with crème de cassis, blueberry pie and preserved plums over nuances of Chinese five spice, hoisin, chocolate box and dusty soil. Full-bodied, rich and decadent, it has loads of spicy layers and a firm, grainy backbone, finishing on an earthy note… 93 points.”
Even though the name doesn’t really tell you much of a story, at just a notch over $40 ($41.98) the Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Distinction Series 2016 qualifies as a notable value in Napa Cabernet,