A Beringer Knights Valley “4 for 1”!

I titled this post “4 for 1” because I am doing four Beringer wines, all from Knights Valley. The first three are all Cabernet Sauvignons from the 90’s and the fourth is the ’04 Aluvium, a Merlot dominated blend.

Wine Information for the Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon’s is unavailable! Even in the vast world of the interwebs, I couldn’t find specifics on the three back vintages.

My Tasting Notes –

1990: nice red fruit, hints of chocolate and cherry with an interesting note of adzuki or white bean. Still a decent amount of tannins and acidity – I just felt it was a bit tired, but still impressive for a 20 year old Cabernet.

1992: A bit of funkiness, the good kind, leather and earth laced with black currant on the nose. More funk on the palate, with additional blackberry and more red fruit notes interlacing in the mid palate. Smooth and rich, with great leathery tannins. Again impressive for its age, my favorite of the bunch.

1995: Oak was the first thing that hit me, and the fruit was a little muddled on the nose. Good notes of black cherry, fennel and more toasty oak and vanilla notes on the palate. Huge tannins for the age, surprising, and a little overwhelming as I don’t think it had the fruit to back it up. Felt a little disjointed but maybe just needs more time, seeing how impressed I was with the ’92.

I had the above wines at a tasting group that I attend once a month, and these were a treat that one of the girls brought for us to enjoy. On the way home, I thought I needed to keep the Beringer Knights Valley train going, so I opened a 2004 BKV Aluvium.

’04 Aluvium Information –

Appellation: Knights Valley
Grapes: 74% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: $21

My Tasting Notes-

Nose: wet pine, blackberry, soy, kirsch, tomato pasted
Taste: black currant, cassis, black cherry, suede, fennel
Mouthfeel: full body, leathery – fuzzy tannins
Finish: long and fruity

Impressive, as I’m not partial to California Merlot in general. Enthusiast gave it a 93 and said to drink through 2010. I can almost agree with that high of a rating, as it was really good, but I think it can roll for quite a few more years, it is definitely not on it’s last leg.

Cheers!