This shows really beautiful purity of fruit with polish and sophistication. The currant and cassis aromas are so enticing and really reflect the name of the wine. Medium to full body. Extremely fine tannins. Shows a level of freshness and agility that caresses the palate. Delicate and beautiful. Mostly Howell Mountain. Drink or hold.

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is brilliant, with a ripe, powerful style that’s going to age gracefully. Deep blackcurrants, dark chocolate, scorched earth, and graphite notes all emerge from this concentrated, powerful Cabernet that has ripe tannins, a big, rich mid-palate, and a great finish. It’s going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and keep for upwards of two decades with no issues.

Thick and concentrated in dense layers of cedar, pencil shaving and currant, this reserve-worthy wine is substantial in body wight and power, with considerable oak impact, as it was aged 20 months in 80% new French oak. Still, it shows remarkable underlying beauty, complexity and structure. It is a blockbuster that will do well in the cellar. Enjoy best from 2027 through 2037. — Virginie Boone

Composed of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve springs from the glass with notions of red and black currant jelly, baker's chocolate, menthol and spice cake plus hints of violets, cedar and kirsch in the undercurrent. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals a firm, finely grained texture with tons of freshness backing up the generous fruit, finishing long and perfumed. 9,644 cases were made.

Beringer's flagship Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is very pretty in 2017. Sweet red cherry, red plum, mint, licorice and floral notes all grace this super-expressive and inviting Private Reserve. As always, the Private Reserve is a blend from a number of the sites Beringer works with, based on a core of Howell Mountain vineyards.

An elegant vintage of Private Reserve, this is nearly two-thirds from Howell Mountain, specifically the iron-rich red soils of Steinhauer Ranch and the white volcanic tuff of Bancroft; another quarter of the blend comes from St. Helena (Beringer’s Home Vineyard and Chabot). The wine is tight and green at first, needing air to gain and lengthen its fruit scents of black cherries and blackberry seeds. Tense and floral, with subdued ripeness, this should age well. — J.G.