The Debate Beckstoffer Cabernet Sauvignon Assortment Case 2013 3-Pack OCB 750mL

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane again reveals Graves-like, smoky barbecue notes intermixed with wet stones, blueberry and blackberry fruit, a full-bodied opulence, and a sexy, lusty mouthfeel, and to me, the most complexity of any of these wines. There’s something about this vineyard that just seems to hit all the sweet spots on my palate, so I adore just about everybody’s wine that comes from this source. According to Jean Hoefliger, “Dr. Crane has the sexiness and softness of Marilyn Monroe and the eloquence of Mahatma Gandhi.” (As you can imagine, Hoefliger is never short of whimsical statements.) The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Missouri Hopper, which comes from another Oakville Beckstoffer Vineyard, is spectacular. Opaque purple in color, the wine offers up notes of white chocolate, blackberry and cassis, some subtle background oak, rich, foresty notes, a full-bodied, opulent texture, and terrific purity and overall harmony. It is young and tightly coiled, but this is a stunner that should evolve beautifully for 25-30 years. The ever-humorous and clever Jean Hoefliger says about the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon, “It has the complexity and depth of Sigmund Freud and the integrity of Abraham Lincoln.” Perhaps my tasting notes can’t say it much better than that. It’s a prodigious Cabernet Sauvignon with notes of charcoal embers integrated with blueberry, blackberry and cassis, some lead pencil shavings, unsmoked cigar tobacco, and a massive, full-bodied mouthfeel with incredible purity, structure and intensity. Forget it for 4-5 years and drink it over the following 30+.