Beringer Private Reserve spotlight
Heath Karesh of Treasury Wine Estates is on camera walking Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet, the same flagship program as this 2017, vineyard by vineyard from the valley floor to Howell Mountain.
2017 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet, Napa Valley
Mark Beringer's Private Reserve Cabernet, mostly Howell Mountain currant and graphite, a 98-point 2017 you can open at eighty-five dollars.
The 2017 Private Reserve is 96 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc and Merlot: black currant, blackberry, cocoa, graphite, and smoky oak after 20 months in 80 percent new French oak, now $85.
Napa's oldest continuously operating winery, in its flagship Cabernet
Private Reserve has been Beringer's Cabernet statement since 1977. Mark Beringer, great-great-grandson of founder Jacob, made this 2017 from eight sources, mostly mountain fruit. James Suckling 98 called out currant and cassis, extremely fine tannins, mostly Howell Mountain. Jeb Dunnuck 96 found deep blackcurrants, dark chocolate, scorched earth, and graphite. Wine Enthusiast 95. Wine Advocate 94. Nine thousand six hundred forty-four cases. This is the bottle that lets a Napa flagship onto a steak table at eighty-five dollars.
The house
Beringer has made wine in St. Helena since 1876, Napa's oldest continuously operating winery. Private Reserve is the flagship Cabernet, not a second label.
The wine
96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot. 20 months, 80% new French oak. 15.5% ABV. Mostly Howell Mountain.
The scores
James Suckling 98. Jeb Dunnuck 96. Wine Enthusiast 95. Wine Advocate 94.
The drinker
Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Grilled ribeye, or grilled rib-eye with tonnato.
Currant and cassis, then cocoa, graphite, and fine tannin
The winery note is bright black currant and blackberries, then cocoa powder, graphite, light smoky oak, espresso, and vanilla on ripe tannins with balanced acidity. Suckling found purity, polish, and agility, mostly Howell Mountain. Dunnuck called it ripe and powerful, built for two decades. Wine Enthusiast found cedar, pencil shaving, and currant after 20 months in 80 percent new French oak.
Abundant winter rain, a mild spring, then a Labor Day heatwave that kicked harvest into gear, followed by a cool break that let sugars settle. Steinhauer Ranch, Bancroft Ranch, Pauli, and Marc Mondavi Ranch on Howell Mountain are the foundation, with St. Helena Home Vineyard and Chabot adding valley-floor warmth. Drink now with air, or cellar into the mid-2030s.
Black currant, blackberry, cassis, cocoa, graphite, espresso, vanilla, cedar, pencil shaving, menthol.
Full, 15.5% ABV, 80% new French oak, ripe tannin, balanced acidity, mountain core.
Long, elegant, oak-spiced. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Each vineyard vinified apart, then 20 months in custom-toasted French oak
On Beringer's own 2017 note, reserve vineyards are good enough for a minimalist approach. Each lot is vinified separately, with tailored pump-overs, then aged in hand-selected, custom-toasted barrels of new French oak, 80 percent new, for 20 months before the final blend. Mark Beringer called the vintage brooding, dark, and luscious. Alcohol is 15.5 percent. The blend is 96 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 3 percent Cabernet Franc, 1 percent Merlot.
Howell Mountain lots supply concentration and tannin. St. Helena Home Vineyard and Chabot add riper valley-floor fruit. The art is using hillside grip without losing polish.
Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. This wine is meant to cellar, and it still opens with air now.
Private Reserve, from private stock to Napa flagship
Jacob and Frederick Beringer founded the winery in 1876. Private Reserve grew out of the family's private stock, the barrels kept for themselves.
The program began in 1977 under Ed Sbragia and Myron Nightingale. The 1986 Private Reserve Cabernet was Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year in 1990. Beringer is the only winery to take that number-one slot for both a red and a white, both Private Reserve.
Mark Beringer returned as the eighth winemaker in the house's history, the first Beringer in nearly a century to run the cellar that carries his name.
This 2017 is that lineage in a mountain-led blend: Howell Mountain core, St. Helena warmth, 20 months of new French oak, a flagship you can actually pull the cork on.
Steakhouse gravitas: ribeye, char, and slow-cooked savor
Ripe tannin and oak sweetness want char, fat, and a long-cooked plate. Grilled ribeye is the immediate landing. A second steak plate keeps the pairing in the same lane.
Two plates. One grilled ribeye. One grilled rib-eye with tonnato sauce. Both can take this Cabernet's oak and mountain tannin.
Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. A Bordeaux bowl helps the currant and cocoa open.
Perfect Grilled Ribeye
Char, fat, and a warm crust meet Private Reserve at its most steakhouse: currant against beef, cocoa against browned butter.
Why it works: Ribeye marbling softens 15.5 percent alcohol and new-oak tannin while the crust echoes graphite and smoke.
View Recipe for perfect grilled ribeye (opens in a new tab)
Grilled Rib-Eye Steak with Tonnato Sauce
A second grilled rib-eye plate, with a savory sauce that keeps the pairing in steakhouse territory without sweet glaze.
Why it works: Beef fat and a grilled crust give the tannin a landing. Savory sauce pulls espresso and cedar forward.
View Recipe for grilled rib-eye steak (opens in a new tab)Put this Private Reserve in the cart
James Suckling 98. Mark Beringer, mostly Howell Mountain. Eighty-five dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is Beringer's flagship Cabernet for a table that wants currant, graphite, and a real cellar horizon.
