From a site just outside of St. Helena, the mammoth-sized 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Lithology Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard (barrel fermented and aged in 80% new French oak) offers up a smorgasbord of dark, meaty fruits, chocolate, damp earth, and tobacco, with more minerality and violet characteristics developing with time in the glass. Deep, full-bodied, and incredibly layered, it’s one of the richer, more powerful wines in the lineup. Drink it over the coming 2 decades.

(96+ points) Aged for 22 months in 80% new French oak, the 2016 Lithology Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras is very deep garnet-purple in color with a nose of crushed blackcurrants, black cherries and warm plums with nuances of beautiful exotic spices accents and a perfume of potpourri, tobacco leaf and Sichuan pepper plus a hint of cedar chest. Full-bodied with a firm backbone of fine-grained tannins and a lively line, it has a stunning core of bright, crunchy black fruits, finishing with a wonderfully persistent perfume. 90 cases produced.- LPB

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Lithology Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard is deep, rich and explosive, with tons of textural intensity in every dimension. The trademark minerality and savoriness of Las Piedras is nearly buried by the sheer unctuousness of the fruit. Iron, mocha, espresso and smoke are some of the many notes that develop in the glass. Ideally, the Piedras might show a bit more site detail, but that is hard to achieve at this level of production, where a small amount of grapes virtually necessitates fermentation in barrel. Even so, there is so much to like here. -- Antonio Galloni