Beringer Vineyards has owned and farmed its Knights Valley vineyards since the mid-1960s, when the Beringer family recognized that the cobbled, rocky alluvial soils were a great place to grow high quality wine grapes. The Knights Valley designation was first used on a Beringer label in 1974. Beringer was instrumental in garnering official recognition for the area in 1983 as a premier wine growing region with the award of its own American Viticulture Area (AVA) designation.

Deep garnet-ruby in color, the 2019 Knights Valley Reserve invites with deep aromas of black cherries and kirsch lifted with a touch of blue flowers and mint. Concentrated flavors of black currant, blackberries and cassis coat the palate with notes of warm spices, vanilla and mocha. This is a bold Cabernet richly textured with polished tannins, focused in crushed dark fruit, and underlain with a fine tension that extends the long, earthy finish.

A long, warm summer and mild finish to the season. The beginning of the 2019 growing season was defined by copious rainfall and late soil moisture. The long, warm summer saw very few extreme heat events, with foggy mornings setting the stage for vibrant and expressive wines. The long, relatively mild finish to the season, not without its moments of unpredictability, helped to preserve freshness and finesse in the fruit with abundant hang time teasing out great color, structure and soft tannins. Volume is looking to be about average to a little less than average. All in all, exceptional fruit with bright acidity and ample texture promises an amazing vintage.

Located in a remote and bucolic location in Sonoma County just 17 miles north of the Beringer Napa winery, Knights Valley lies in the shadow of Mount St. Helena with hilly terrain that descends to rocky, alluvial soils where ancient rivers once ran. Warm during the day, cool at night, this well-draining site produces bold and richly structured reds with intense dark fruit.

Knights Valley Reserve is a barrel selection, a blend of the best vineyard lots in a given vintage. To maintain the unique characteristics of the different lots from varying areas of the vineyard, they are kept separate through vinification and aging, and only the most expressive are chosen for this Reserve bottling. Extended maceration created more dominant tannins, enhancing the lush mouthfeel of the blend while extracting a maximum of color, aromas and flavors. The 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wine was aged in small French Nevers oak barrels (50% percent new) for 21 months, enhancing the rich mouthfeel and structure.