Mission Codename Communication Breakdown
SAY WIAAAAA!!! This is it! We’ve reached everyone’s favorite time of the year! Wine Spies Operatives, celebrate the best of the best!
For those new around here, these are our “Wine Intrigue Awards” as we revisit and honor some of the most intriguing and vastly popular features from the past year, one final time…
First of the WIA is Vineyard of the Year and it goes to….. drumroll……..Beckstoffer To Kalon! For obvious reasons!
Now on with the show…
Thousands of bottles of World’s End vanish in thin air every time, selling out before everyone’s happy. So, we THINK we’re better prepared this time! Try us. Grab this 94+ pointer AT A CRAZY 70% OFF by the case as this sure is the only opportunity there is to do so.
Cabernet. 2018. BTK. Our price?! We must have gone batty!
Leave it to Wine Spectator to sum it up: “To Kalon Vineyard has produced some of Napa Valley’s most esteemed - and highest priced - Cabernets.” In fact, they START at $200 a bottle, and $1,000 per is not unheard of for the mother of all Napa Cab vineyards.
World’s End is a project by winemaking force Jonathan Maltus. The man has a LONG list of 95-100-point wines. He emerged as a leading visionary from the 1990s “garagiste” period in St. Emilion, where he pushed the limits and broke all the traditional rules to set new expectations for quality and price. He does it all, most notably across places like Le Dôme, Château Teyssier, and other top Right Bank estates. World’s End is his Napa project, and he’s connected with all the right vineyards for sourcing.
And if Beckstoffer To Kalon ain’t THE right one then we are clueless about what vineyard would be. On any given day, and at any given place, you just simply cannot obtain a BTK at this price. For the elite few with access to it, America’s #1 Vineyard costs dearly to source from. In fact, the release price for this is way, WAY affordable for this rightfully pampered plot. Once again, the truth is in the bottle…
Gorgeous aromas of ripe blackberry, cassis, pencil lead, graphite, and dusty earth. Full-bodied with silky, creamy tannins, the palate is juicy and expressive, with uncommon depth and complexity, and the finish is monumentally long. The marriage of intense black fruits with plush, heavyweight tannins, the balance of power, and finesse, all make this Cabernet as good as that varietal can be. Can totally see what that ‘+’ was all about when Wine Advocate reviewed it 9 months ago, today, something far better is born. In the cellar, IF you have the patience of a saint to not pop one and decant for hours, it will continue to bloom.
Good times indeed… don’t let the bad times roll if you miss out.
94+ Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“World’s End is the Napa venture of peripatetic Englishman Jonathan Maltus, probably best known for his Bordeaux estates: Château Teyssier and Le Dôme. Much of the fruit comes from superstar grower Andy Beckstoffer, which comes at a price, and the length of the relationship has a bearing on what fruit you have access to. The 2018 Good Times, Bad Times Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard offers more intensity than either the 2017 or 2019, with bold plum, cassis, cola, cedar and tobacco notes. It’s full-bodied, rich and velvety yet vibrant and with a touch of crispness to the finish that augurs well for aging. Drink 2025-2040.”
What the Winery Says
2018 'Good Times...' Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon
- Winemaker
- Jonathan Maltus
- Varietals
- 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Vintage
- 2018
- Alcohol
- 16.0%
- Vineyard
- Beckstoffer To Kalon
- Appellation
- Oakville, Napa valley
- Fermentation
- 100% new French Oak
- Aging
- 24 months
- Barrels
- 100% new French Oak