2016 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon KVR Knights Valley Reserve 750 ml

Beringer’s massive 2016 Knights Valley Reserve Cabernet is a historic bottling from the iconic Napa estate, and marks the homecoming of an heir. Mark Beringer, the great-great-grandson of one of the co-founding brothers, took the helm of the estate as winemaker in 2015 and immediately wrote himself into the winery’s legacy with this dazzlingly supple Cabernet.

Returning to the Knights Valley vineyards his family first cultivated generations ago, Mark showed his complete mastery of the house style that has twice earned Beringer the #1 Wine of the Year honor from Wine Spectator. Bay leaf, graphite, and vanilla overlay plump black currant and blackberry with a kiss of mint, eliciting a whopping 96 point score from James Suckling. Jeb Dunnuck praised its “ripe and voluptuous palate” and called it “a beautiful wine that has two decades of longevity.”

We’ve been eyeing this dark, dusty-tannined prize since the blend first started coming together, and now that’s it finally here—secured at some of the best terms you’ll find anywhere—we’re overjoyed to share it with you.

If a bottle like this one said “Napa Valley” on the label, it’d be going for $200. Beringer’s property in Knights Valley sees the warmest temperatures in Sonoma by day, but their high altitudes drive dramatic temperature variations that lead to refreshingly cool nights and long growing seasons. Soil diversity, from rocky alluvial hillsides to volcanic ash, lend this 2016 its complexity through the lifted, herbal finish.

It’s fitting that Mark decided to work with Knights Valley grapes in one of his earliest releases as winemaker. Beringer was the pioneer and trendsetter in this northeastern tip of Sonoma, farming vineyards since the early 1960s, long before Peter Michael began making 99-point wines off these rolling bucolic hills.

A barrel selection from the best plots, Mark’s carefully selected blend was polished inside 56% new French oak for nineteen months, taking on voluminous mouthfeel and a wonderfully integrated structure.

Robert Parker has praised Beringer’s wines as “exceptionally impressive.” Mark is continuing that streak with this outstanding Knights Valley Cabernet from family-owned vineyards that are part and parcel of the Beringer name.