Beringer, Rancho del Oso Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain

Brilliant, purple rimmed very deep garnet colour. Nose is roses roses roses- very myrrh forward. This is followed by a cedar overlap, and the slightest hint of sweetness. The palate is a melange of sweet, spice, a bit of citrus undertone, and herbs. Finish is less lengthy than expected. Overall a forward looking wine with a little less complexity than expected. With Waygu steak. Acidity held up well- but I would drink soon. Decanted 4 hours before tasting.

2007 vintage

Last bottle of a case we have drank over the past 10 years. Still in great form with a solid frame, juicy core, sweet, refined tannins, and emerging tertiary notes taking a greater role on the finish. This is heavily oaked which reflects the style of the 2000's, but it is integrated well and still brings a good acidic punch due to the high-elevation site. We will miss this wine. Paired with seared rib-eyes and mixed veggie sides on a …

2007 vintage

Consistent with earlier notes. Solid bottle good to very good.

2000 vintage

Thought I had let this sit too long but it was better than expected. Tight upon opening but opened up after an hour decant. Dark blue and black fruit with a hint of baking spice. Medium body and nicely structured. Beautiful fruit on the front of the palate but a big gap in the middle and a relatively short finish. Have one more that I will try to pop soon. Edit day two: No further development but still enjoyable. Fruit …

2000 vintage

It was definitely a bit past its prime, but still had some flavor and energy. Opened up after a few hours.

2000 vintage

Opened and decanted an hour ahead of grilled pork and steak mixed grill. Consistent with previous notes only gaining more tertiary savory and earthy notes into the finish. Likely reaching peak maturity but should hold well for another 5+ years. Drink 2023-2028. Technical score: 94. Enjoyment score: 96.

2007 vintage

Same sentiments as on July 4, 2022J

2007 vintage

Four hour decant. Full bodied with saturation of dark cherries and blackberry. Well intergratged tannins. Time will no longer improve this wine but should stay at this level of excellence for some time. Would buy again.

2007 vintage

Drinks really nicely although a bit young. It’s got the bigger mountain fruit. Well structured. Dark black fruits. Still evolving and definitely many years left. Impressive.

2000 vintage

Paired with savory beef stew around a front-yard fire pit while trick-or-treaters raided our candy bowl nearby. Consistent with past notes, only gaining some fat and weight. Silky, concentrated, balanced, and delivering precise fruit delineation. Still good acidity and tannins on the finish. Drink 2022-2026. Technical score: 95. Enjoyment score: 95.

2007 vintage

Consistent with notes six months ago and only getting better. Razor sharp red and black fruit profile, purity of fruit, impeccable balance, earthy/musty sense of place, and 60-second+ long finish. Technical score: 96. Enjoyment score: 96.

2007 vintage

This was an lovely CA Cabernet. While I made no formal notations, we did enjoy it over the course of a few days.

2000 vintage

Paired with filet at Jak’s West Seattle/Junction for my birthday. Best bottle yet. Feels like this is hitting its peak window. Was accessible after just a half hour decant. Consistent with previous notes, very well polished, balanced, and crafted, but not too much oak or extraction. Deep blackcurrant, blueberries, blackberries, red cherries, rich milk chocolate, espresso bean, mint, and pipe tobacco in waves from the nose through the finish. Also light on its feet for a full-bodied wine. Could be …

2007 vintage

Tannins show nicely, well -balanced. Some fruitiness, most of the sugar is gone but just the right amount is still there. For me, at least, it is the right time to open the bottle.

2002 vintage

Consistent and previous experiences (but not our last bottle). Exceptional. Drink 2018-2025. Technical score: 94. Enjoyment score: 95.

2007 vintage

Deep, deep purple, tones of crimson and orange at the brim. Heavy legs, viscous. I love the nose, its all that black and purple fruit you love, blackberry, cedar, beautiful oak, espresso, it hits all the happy notes with depth. The nose would make me go 93 - 94 however the palate is just not as evolved and shifted. Starts with blackberries intertwines with some light bell pepper notes, tart currants, vanilla, moving towards baking spice, white pepper, and coffee …

2002 vintage

Black berries, cedar, cassis, herbal notes, smokey oak.

2007 vintage

Blackberries, blueberries, pepper, herbal notes, tobacco, smokey oak. A

2007 vintage

Red fruit, blue berries, leather hints of cocoa, earthy notes, smokey oak. Tannins are well integrated. Layers of complexity. A

2007 vintage

Decanted 2+ hours before drinking with a filet. Seemed more closed and shut down compared to last summer. The nose was lovely but the fruit on the palate seemed clipped and was overall unbalanced. Finish had length but the oak was more noticeable on this drinking. Drink before 2025. Technical score: 93. Enjoyment score: 91.

2007 vintage

A bit of a let down but it is ready to go. At 17 years it has held up well and drinks as fresh as when it likely was first bottled. It has well balanced tannins against the fruit notes. The wine is well presented in a light bodied more watery style but aside from that is a modest Howell Mountain wine. Expected more fruit but Then again 2000 was not the best year.

2000 vintage

Cloudy, very berry, retained tannin, some pepper, still balanced between fruit, acid and tannin. Quite enjoyable.

2000 vintage

This wine was run through a Vinturi before serving. This is a dark inky wine. Aromatically pleasing with vanilla, cassis, charcoal, and blackberries. The tannins are well integrated with no residual dryness. The acidity presents at the entry along with jammy blackberries and incense. The palate did not match the intensity of the aromas. The fruit is very linear with no evolution or complexity. The depth fades in the mid palate where there is a pepper that takes over and …

2007 vintage

Incredible, dark inky purple color with a crimson hue. Vanilla bean and blackcurrant on the nose. Palate is silky yet rustic, with gobs of jammy blackberry fruit. Finish is refined and lengthy. Completely consistent with previous notes and seems to be in a nice window now.

2007 vintage

Too old. Interestingly jammy but too flawed to consume at this point. Bummer.

2002 vintage

Young tannins still strong. Great color blackberries cassis chocolate. Needs decanting. Should be good for 5 years plus

2007 vintage

Exceptional mountain cabernet in a very nice window right now. Drank in a tasting and it was WOTN, slightly beating out a Cayuse Grenache, among a few other stellar wines. The nose is floral and perfumed nicely, with excellent weight, viscosity, mouthfeel, and loads of dark fruit. The oak is integrating nicely too. Drink now - 2025.

2007 vintage

Bad

2002 vintage

Wonderful. This wine is ready to drink, and fully integrated. Just as Parker described. Score = [ 50 + 5 + 14 + 17 + 8 ] = 94

2007 vintage

Two of three bottles had turned and were undrinkable. One was on its last legs. Some residual fruit flavors but difficult to identify.

2002 vintage

Decanted 1.5 hours ahead of dinner, prepped to wash down filet, asparagus, and yellow potatoes all off the grill. Dark, brooding purple/maroon color. Nose brings a complex assortment of wet clay, red raspberries, blueberries, chocolate mocha, and some cherry baking spices. The palate is full, round, soft, and elegant, bringing loads of tangy dark fruit, including blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, milk chocolate, dried herbs, and juicy strawberries into the finish, which is slightly hot yet long and complex. This is a …

2007 vintage

Allowed to breathe in glass 30 minutes before tasting. Clear deep garnet color. Initial bouquet of roast game, mixed red fruit, soy, and underbrush. With air, the bouquet freshened, losing the meatiness and expressing more fruit, along with notes of red licorice, vanilla, bourbon, sweet oak. Similar on the palate, full body, with somewhat rough tannins and a sense of muddiness and flabbiness rather than the crystal-clear structure of the previously tasted 1990 Dominus, which is an utterly unfair comparison. …

2000 vintage

Decanted three hours, soft and elegant, dark fruit, low acid and very fine tannins, and lingering finish which became chocolate mocha in nature when consumed with grilled strip loin. Update 07/25/2015: Same impressions, however a minimum of a three hour decant is essential.

2007 vintage

The extracted cork was pristine. I decanted and separated the light sediment. Right away there was a beautiful old cab nose of dried black fruit, cedar and wet leaves, without a hint of barnyard. After two hours it was drinking beautifully. There was little fruit on a pallet that is dominated by black spice, and minerals. While it retained some tartness, there are only hints of black berries. Tannins are soft and polished. Extended finish - a beautiful bottle. Good …

2000 vintage

Blue berries, plum, spice and silky smooth tannins. Good complexity and good length on the finish. A

2007 vintage

- Ruby color and aromas of cranberry and cherry. It's balanced with a medium body. Smooth texture with a medium finish - On the nose and in the mouth the wine is obviously new world. Wine was purchased at the winery in 2004 and has been stored in pristine condition since then. Cork was as new. This wine will be a great hit with those that enjoy fruity easy to drink friendly wines. The bottle is very pretty with gold …

2000 vintage

Not lively enough to convince me, still a nice wine.

2002 vintage

Winery tasting. Still showing big, black fruits, black coffee, and some earth tones. Structured. Great finish, and should last for many years

2007 vintage

I decanted the wine and it was drinking nicely after 30 minutes. There is a nice nose of black fruit, oak, and vanilla. There is a hint of mustiness but it does not detract; just a reminder of its maturity. On the pallet there is black currant, cherries, and mineral notes. This wine is still good, but not for too much longer.

2000 vintage

This is a very good wine but at $75 it does not deliver as advertised. On the surface the wine has all the goods, rich aromas, great color, good complex flavors of blueberries leather with well integrated tannins. Where I find the wine falling short is in the mouth feel and length of finish which is where I expect a wine of this price to shine. I like this wine a lot but not at $75.

2007 vintage

This one is loosing its stuffing. Drinkable but not the wine it was several years ago.

2002 vintage

Allowed to breathe in glass one hour before tasting. Clear deep blood-garnet color. Surprisingly good on the first night, with red cherries and currants, earth, and spicy oak. It fell apart the next day under vacuum stopper, smelling and tasting like meat juice and tobacco, with the fruit taking on a stewed quality. Scored on the first night's showing.

2000 vintage

- Garnet color.

2000 vintage

I wasn't expecting too much here and was happy to find a modestly complex and smooth wine. Even at 12 years old it had life left in it and hadn't left the aging plateau into decline. The aroma was a mix of tobacco, clove, and cherry. The flavor was mild dark fruits mixed with spices and a hint of pepper. The finish was medium length and enjoyable.

2000 vintage

Needed to be decanted, opened for a few hours. Nice smooth Cab, everyone enjoyed it at the 4th party.

2000 vintage

great ... keeps 3-5 years

2000 vintage

Vertical tasting along with '04 and '06. Decanted all three bottles simultaneously, tasted at various times thereafter. 10 minutes: Mellow earthy nose. Modest blackberry fruit. Brambly and spicy, slightly bitter. 2 hours: Well balanced, by consensus the best of the three at the Danish Christmas party, but not exceptional. Drinking well now and should hold a few more years.

2002 vintage

- Crimsom color and aromas of oak, chocolate and dusty. It's balanced and has flavours of black currant, blackberry, chocolate and vanilla with a medium body. Narrow texture with a medium finish.

2002 vintage

past its prime. ok fruit

2002 vintage

Blue berries, plum, spice and smooth tannins. Good complexity and good length on the finish. A

2007 vintage

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Beringer, Rancho del Oso Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain

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