We have several splits of this wine, as well as a few 750’s, so last night we opened a split to go with grilled steaks and prime-time US Open golf. This wine is in a great place right now. It had a beautiful bouquet of black fruits and tobacco. Full bodied, with rich cherry, cassis, tar, and graphite on the palate, with nice acidity and minerality on the finish. This wine is built for the long haul and should be at its peak in 3-5 years. Beringer PR seems to be often overlooked in discussions of great examples of California Cabs, but this wine can stand up to the best of them, IMHO.
I believe they had/have more than one Private Reserve cab in '01. Which vineyard was this one from? I think I have a bottle of '01 Marston buried in my cellar.
They basically blend the single vineyard reserve cabs (Marston being one of them) to make the Private Reserve bottling.
I have had several bottles of the 2001 Beringer Private Reserve and I’ve been impressed with every one of them. An outstanding wine… that IS often overlooked–totally agree on that point.
Thanks for the update on this wine. i only have 1 bottle left and I would like to hang on to it for another 5 years or so. So it is nice to read these notes.
This wine was very tasty on release when I had it a couple of times. Wish I had more!
A little strange, but I went to a mass-tasting at our CC a couple of weeks ago. The local guys who carry Beringer were pouring from a six pack of Beringer PRs. I didn’t take notes, but I believe it was the 91, 92, 95, 00, 02 & 05.
I do recall at the beginning of the night, the '05 was the best wine. Three hours later, the '91 was singingt. They were selling this six-pack at $450 – a pretty good price.