![Beaulieu Vineyard BV "Georges de Latour" Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 (Napa Valley, California) - [JS 97] [DM 96] [W&S 95] [WA 94]](http://artisan.wine/cdn/shop/products/BVGeorgesLatour_{width}x.png?v=1631390921)
Beaulieu Vineyard BV "Georges de Latour" Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
(Napa Valley, California) - [JS 97] [DM 96] [W&S 95] [WA 94]
Regular price $160.00 Sale price $139.97 Save $20.03
About the winery:
Ratings & Reviews
BV's vines were first planted back in 1900, when founder Georges de Latour noticed similarities with his native Bordeaux and declared the Napa Valley ideal for winemaking. Planting vineyards in Rutherford with grafted, phylloxera-resistent French vines, the Cabernet Sauvignon that de Latour crafted from these grapes gave the world a taste of California's promise as a world-class winemaking region.
In 1938, de Latour hired the young Russian-French enologist, Andre Tchelistcheff. The legacy of Beaulieu Vineyard has helped shape American winemaking for more than a century. Their highly-acclaimed, iconic Cabernets were the first cult wines in the US and have been served at the White House for more than five decades.
Notes from the Winemaker:
The 2017 Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is ripe, fruit-forward and voluptuous, with brawny dark fruit aromas of blackberry, dark plum and black currant. Hints of delicate violet and black pepper spice also support the lush fruit, showcasing the depth, concentration, and balance of this extraordinary Cabernet. Full-bodied with breadth and weight, the rich palate is supported by robust flavors of blackberry, cassis, dark plum, mocha and molasses. Notes of vanilla, caramel and baking spice are well-integrated, a tribute to aging in new French oak barrels. The fruit is supported by signature “Rutherford Dust” tannins, adding a round, cocoa-powder texture, supple length and firm presence to the lingering finish. The ever-expansive palate, while seamlessly integrating with the full-bodied texture, crafts a wine that shows nuance, intrigue and approachability now, but with layers of complexity and structure that will allow the wine to age for years to come.
Blend: 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot
The 2017 Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is ripe, fruit-forward and voluptuous, with brawny dark fruit aromas of blackberry, dark plum and black currant. Hints of delicate violet and black pepper spice also support the lush fruit, showcasing the depth, concentration, and balance of this extraordinary Cabernet. Full-bodied with breadth and weight, the rich palate is supported by robust flavors of blackberry, cassis, dark plum, mocha and molasses. Notes of vanilla, caramel and baking spice are well-integrated, a tribute to aging in new French oak barrels. The fruit is supported by signature “Rutherford Dust” tannins, adding a round, cocoa-powder texture, supple length and firm presence to the lingering finish. The ever-expansive palate, while seamlessly integrating with the full-bodied texture, crafts a wine that shows nuance, intrigue and approachability now, but with layers of complexity and structure that will allow the wine to age for years to come.
Blend: 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot
Ratings & Reviews
97 Points & #75 Top 100 of US 2020 - James Suckling:
"This is one of the most balanced Georges de Latour, offering currants, minerals, fresh herbs and spices. It’s full-bodied with very fine tannins. Long and focused. Subtle and complex. Very elegant and refined in the end. Reminds me of classic, old vintages from the 1960s and 1970s. Drink or hold." (Sept 2020)
96 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"Showcasing the deep slashes of liquorice that you find in Cabernet from Napa, this is layered with concentrated cassis. A more generously spiced, ripe, juicy and pure version than you often find in the savoury, menthol-laced Cabernet of Bordeaux. This is confident and has years of pleasure ahead of it for anyone who owns it. Owned by Treasury Wine Estates, 100,000 bottles made and around 12,000 going through La Place. As one of the key Napa Valley Cabernets, that is part of the history of the valley, it is an exciting wine to have on the Place for the first time in 2020. 95% new oak." (8/2020)
95 Points - Wine & Spirits:
"In great vintages of the 1940s and ’50s, André Tchelistcheff grew Georges de Latour Private Reserve wines that lived for six decades or more. Beaulieu has been through a lot of changes since those early days and this is the first vintage, on release, to show the beautiful elegance those old wines must have had in their time. In 2017, this wine retained its freshness for six days after the bottle was first opened, when there was finally nothing left to taste. But that last taste was still bright and fresh, sustained by dusty Rutherford tannins and an aristocratic structure, infused by delicate red and black currant flavors. Trevor Durling made the wine, his first vintage at Beaulieu, having joined as general manager and head winemaker in time to see the 2017 through the growing season to harvest... Durling credits more care in managing the leaf coverage shading certain parcels or rows of grapes, and more targeted irrigation in 2017, for helping to achieve phenolic ripeness ahead of sugar in the grapes, allowing him to harvest earlier than in the past, with a clearer delineation of the terroir expression in the grapes. By the time the fires hit on October 8, he already had harvested 80 percent of the fruit for this wine, when typically, in the past, the team would have brought in 40 to 50 percent. This may well turn out to be a historic vintage." (12/2020)
95 Points - Wine & Spirits:
"In great vintages of the 1940s and ’50s, André Tchelistcheff grew Georges de Latour Private Reserve wines that lived for six decades or more. Beaulieu has been through a lot of changes since those early days and this is the first vintage, on release, to show the beautiful elegance those old wines must have had in their time. In 2017, this wine retained its freshness for six days after the bottle was first opened, when there was finally nothing left to taste. But that last taste was still bright and fresh, sustained by dusty Rutherford tannins and an aristocratic structure, infused by delicate red and black currant flavors. Trevor Durling made the wine, his first vintage at Beaulieu, having joined as general manager and head winemaker in time to see the 2017 through the growing season to harvest... Durling credits more care in managing the leaf coverage shading certain parcels or rows of grapes, and more targeted irrigation in 2017, for helping to achieve phenolic ripeness ahead of sugar in the grapes, allowing him to harvest earlier than in the past, with a clearer delineation of the terroir expression in the grapes. By the time the fires hit on October 8, he already had harvested 80 percent of the fruit for this wine, when typically, in the past, the team would have brought in 40 to 50 percent. This may well turn out to be a historic vintage." (12/2020)
94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"Composed of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour was aged for 22 months in French oak, 95% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, the nose is open and ready for business, featuring notions of redcurrant jelly, black raspberries, boysenberries and spice cake with touches of red roses, camphor, dark chocolate and new leather. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers bags of fragrant red and black fruit preserves, framed by plush tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long and perfumed. This is a very pretty expression of this vintage, which is drinking beautifully now and yet should cellar for a good 20 years or more. 6,974 cases were made." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Oct 2020)