Crossfire no more…

WIA Cabernet(s) of the year continue though!! And BECKSTOFFER TO KALON is where Kings are born!

With a vintage like 2021? A winemaking force like Maltus? A discount like 70%?! 93 points!

It’s a beaut, Clark, it’s a beaut!

It drinks like a $200 Cab because it’s made like a $200 Cab. But our price?! You can bet it’s going to fly like Santa’s sleigh!

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 mostly 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…

BIG, but polished and elegant. Packed with glorious purple-y violets and lilacs, spices and gushing with fruit. It flaunts ripe black cherry and blackberry, while cassis, pencil lead, graphite, smoked licorice and dusty earth form a tight phalanx. Full-bodied with silky, creamy tannins, it’s all juicy and expressive, with uncommon depth and complexity, and the finish is monumentally long.

Good times indeed! Bad times if you miss out as what you see are the final few cases…

93 Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous “These are two super-expressive wines from Jonathan Maltus’s World’s End range. The wines are done in a sumptuous style that emphasizes textural richness and early approachability. The 2021 Good Times, Bad Times Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is soft, plush and inviting. Blackberry, mocha, chocolate, licorice, lavender and sweet spice are nicely pushed forward. Silky tannins wrap it all together. This stylish red has plenty to offer. Pretty oral top notes lift the finish. Drink 2025-2033.”

93 Points – James Suckling “Chalky, well-balanced and vivid. Seductive nose of wild currants, blackberries, dried herbs, cedar and baking spices. Medium- to full-bodied with fine, firm tannins. It has an intense character on the palate with dark berries and herbs. Powdery and compact finish with focus. Try after 2025.”

91-94 Points – Jeb Dunnuck “Black fruits, graphite, chocolate, and spicy oak all emerge from the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Good Times Bad Times, a rich, structured, tannic Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon with good overall balance and length. It’s just going to need 4-5 years of bottle age for the tannins to integrate.”