Another 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer to Kalon Vineyard, coming from clones 4 and 337 from that famous first-growth Oakville vineyard of 90 acres. Remarkably, the Robert Mondavi winery still owns even larger portion of the To Kalon Vineyard, but certainly doesn’t exploit it to the extent that most purchasers of Beckstoffer To Kalon fruit do. This cuvée of 450 cases is closer to a Château Latour in a great vintage than you might believe, since it’s from Napa Valley. Notes of graphite, charcoal, blackcurrant liqueur and cedar wood are followed by a muscular, full-bodied wine with fabulous purity, a skyscraper-like texture and a long, long finish, with moderately sweet, ripe tannin. Give it several years of cellaring and drink it over the following three decades, as it is a fabulous effort.

Realm Cellars purchased the Stags Leap winery of Hartwell Estate Vineyards and is in the process of building new facilities and making that their future home. This is one of the stars of Napa Valley and has been since their debut in 2002. Their general philosophy is to find some of the finest vineyard sources in Napa, and not only fashion creative blends, but of course turn out some remarkable Cabernet Sauvignons. 2014 offers their normal lineup of wines, plus their newest estate wine from the Stags Leap AVA. But first, their less expensive offerings, which are phenomenal blends. Remarkably, the 2014s are close in quality to the 2013s! Like most of the 2014s, they are actually more charming and drinkable than the more massive, tannic and potentially longer-lived 2013s.

Score: 97+ Robert Parker (RP), The Wine Advocate (WA), December 2016

Intense stone and blackberry character. A kaleidoscope of flowers and berries. Herbs, too. Blueberries, blackberries and licorice. Lead pencil, too. Medium-to full-bodied, savory and juicy with big tannins. Gorgeous. To Kalon grandeur. Yes! Give it three to four years.

Score: 98 James Suckling (JS), JamesSuckling.com, January 2017