2025 - 2045
For the first time, Tor's 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon includes a fair whack of Cabernet Franc (14%), which winemaker Jeff Ames co-fermented with a portion of the Cabernet Sauvignon. Perhaps that is the source of the wine's delicate herbal shadings, adding complexity and freshness to the black cherry and cassis fruit. Full-bodied, rich, velvety and long, this is really super stuff, with tea-like notes emerging on the finish and lingering silky-dusty tannins.
Jeff Ames has made the wines for Napa PR legend-turned-vintner Tor Kenward for more than a decade now, turning out rich, seductive wines from a bevy of top vineyards across Napa. Tasting through the lineup of bottled 2019s, what stands out is the quality of the tannins produced by these sites and the inherent balance they each maintain. "The last time I bled [the tanks] was 2008," said Ames. "And the last time I added acid was 2009." Although Ames described 2007 as "not my favorite vintage in Napa in general," he opened a bottle of the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon to show how the Tor wines age. It's aging nicely, with a decade of prime drinking left ahead of it. These wines are expensive, but the pedigree of the sites, the quality of the winemaking and the passion of the owner are all noteworthy. If there was any doubt about the latter, Kenward has recently published a book, "Reflections of a Vintner," that should be on any Napa-phile's reading list.
