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1996 Beaulieu Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour

Cabernet Sauvignon: 750ml

$74.99

about this wine:

"Deep dark ruby in color, the aromas reflect classic Rutherford notes of black cherry and currant, with licorice, loam and dried herb components. The wine is medium to full bodied with layered flavors of dark berries, currants, cherries, slate, anise and vanilla...Reserve level Cabernet-based wines are vinified in a similar manner. Grapes were hand picked at optimal maturity and crushed into stainless steel fermenting tanks. Fermentation lasted 7-10 days, with peak juice temperatures reaching 85°F. The must was gently pumped over/punched down 2-3 times per day to carefully extract aroma and flavor components. Pressed at dryness, the individual vineyard lots were transferred to a variety of barrels for malolactic fermentation and extended aging...Nearly opaque black ruby-violet color. Pronounced, herbal, licorice-vanilla and dark cherry aromas, fragrant and explosive intensity. Definite clone 6 influence. Full-bodied, with a thick chewy texture, ripe black and red fruits, firm but supple tannins and no sense of jamminess or over-ripeness. Ripe tannins and solid acidity provide underpinning. Hints of licorice and mineral, as well as bittersweet cocoa, show up in the very long finish. This wine has high fruit intensity combined with strong structure to insure extended aging up to two decades from vintage, and should be the longest aging Private Reserve of the 1990's."

See Ratings and Reviews
points awarded:
WS 91

88 points,

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, January 2000

...exhibits a deep ruby/purple color as well as aggressive toasty new oak, medium body, and firm tannin. The noticeable acidity exacerbates the firmness and tannic structure. Although very good, possibly excellent, it needs 2-4 years of cellaring....This wine needs more mid-palate as well as additional layers of flavor. Less acidification would open up the wine's texture.


88 points,

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, January 2000

Beaulieu's flagship, the 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve, exhibits a deep ruby/purple color as well as aggressive toasty new oak, medium body, and firm tannin. The noticeable acidity exacerbates the firmness and tannic structure. Although very good, possibly excellent, it needs 2-4 years of cellaring. It should keep for 15-20 years. This wine needs more mid-palate as well as additional layers of flavor. Less acidification would open up the wine's texture.


88 points,

Stephen Tanzer's IWC, November 1999

...Quintessential Napa Valley aromas of cassis, tar, menthol, dried herbs, chocolate and Rutherford dust. Rather grapey flavors of cassis and spicy, cedary oak, complicated by an herbal note...


91 points,

Wine Spectator, February 2000

Gushing with berry and new wood character--perhaps a bit too much--but it's rich and powerful, with lots of good tannins and a long finish...


88 points,

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, January 2000

...exhibits a deep ruby/purple color as well as aggressive toasty new oak, medium body, and firm tannin. The noticeable acidity exacerbates the firmness and tannic structure. Although very good, possibly excellent, it needs 2-4 years of cellaring....This wine needs more mid-palate as well as additional layers of flavor. Less acidification would open up the wine's texture.


88 points,

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, January 2000

Beaulieu's flagship, the 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve, exhibits a deep ruby/purple color as well as aggressive toasty new oak, medium body, and firm tannin. The noticeable acidity exacerbates the firmness and tannic structure. Although very good, possibly excellent, it needs 2-4 years of cellaring. It should keep for 15-20 years. This wine needs more mid-palate as well as additional layers of flavor. Less acidification would open up the wine's texture.


88 points,

Stephen Tanzer's IWC, November 1999

...Quintessential Napa Valley aromas of cassis, tar, menthol, dried herbs, chocolate and Rutherford dust. Rather grapey flavors of cassis and spicy, cedary oak, complicated by an herbal note...


91 points,

Wine Spectator, February 2000

Gushing with berry and new wood character--perhaps a bit too much--but it's rich and powerful, with lots of good tannins and a long finish...


About Winery

When Georges and Fernande de Latour purchased a four-acre parcel of land with a hous in Rutherford in May 1900, the new century had barely begun. Georges de Latour decided to surprise his wife with a wonderful piece of property in the heart of Napa Valley in a small town called Rutherford.


When Fernande saw the land she exclaimed "Quel Beaulieu" which in French means beautiful place, thus Beaulieu Vineyard was named. This new venture for the de Latours was timely. In fact, Napa Valley had been suffering because of a vine-destroying louse called phylloxera. Thanks to Georges' knowledge of the cure for phylloxera - resistant rootstock that he would import by the millions over the next decade - prosperity would return to Napa Valley, and Georges would soon be a most influential and well-known figure.

As the St. Helena Star wrote in May, 1911: "When it comes to quality, California is greatly indebted to Mr. G. de Latour, of Rutherford, who for some years has imported hundreds of thousands of the choicest French grafted vines, which have been planted in all the important vineyards of the State."

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