Beta
Beta Wine
Maus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Popped and poured; enjoyed over two days with consistent notes. This is my first bottle of the 2018 “Maus” which shares the same clonal material as the fruit from Montecillo but sits about 1000ft below. No formal notes. The overall impression of freshness is unassailable. At this stage, the wine is super duper primary with cassis and tobacco taking a dominant role. There seems to be some fairly good tannin management happening because the effect on the palate is moderate. Acid, on the other hand, is medium++ and there may be a touch of VA; all good though. This is a very light, elegant and natural expression of Cabernet Sauvignon that’s showing a bit green at the moment however, I feel very confident that time will help this flesh out. Patience will be rewarded. Drink from 2025-2038+. — 2 years ago
Sheldrake Point
Beta Series Strike Back Gewürztraminer 2018
Very interesting and spicy dessert wine. Dark golden color. Aromas of orange zest, mango, lychee fruit and a bevy of spices. The palate notes orange marmalade, cooked peach and those ever present sweet baking spices. Viscous texture but not syrupy sweet for a dessert wine. Paired nicely with carrot cake. Interesting! — 10 months ago
Beta Wine
Vare Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
Initially popped and poured and holy smokes, this is green! The nose is youthful but not without charm, with tart red and black fruit and fresh cut roses. On the palate however, this was simply too green; too tart. So I ended up decanting for a couple of hours before returning to the bottle and checked in on it over the following four days. Probably best on Day 4 but it remained pretty youthful.
After four days of being open, the 2017 “Vare Vineyard” pours a ruby color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is youthful with pretty notes of bright, underripe fruit: blackberries, raspberries, red currants, cranberries, fresh leaf tobacco, Anaheim pepper, roses, dried herbs and autumn forest floor. On the palate, the wine is dry with sneaky medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from nose. The finish is medium+. Overall, this is a very young wine that’s full of energy and needs many years to come into balance. Better after 2027 and drink through 2042. 12.3% ABV. Yes, you read that right. — 5 months ago
Tenuta San Leonardo
San Leonardo Red Blend 2016
Popped and poured; enjoyed over a several hour period. No formal notes. I figured this would be a baby and it certainly was. At this point, everything is wound up into a tight coil. The nose is loaded with dark crunchy fruits, green bell pepper, tobacco, dried Italian herbs, aromatic wood and light baking spices. On the palate, the fruit is super fresh. This comes across elegant however the structure is pretty significant; the acid in particular with the tannin being a bit more on the sneaky side. I drank alongside the 2018 Beta “Maus” and while the nose on the San Leonardo was a bit more exotic, these shared a lot of similarities from a body, texture and structure standpoint. I expect this will begin to show better after 2026 however, I have no plans to touch my remaining bottle until after 2030. Patience will be handsomely rewarded. — 2 years ago
Jay Kline
In honor of the Beta Wine, Spring allocation day (the 2021 Lupina and Maus), I decided to check into the 2021 “Montecillo” which was released last Fall. Based off previous experience, I poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service and then enjoyed over then next five hours; and this just continued to slowly reveal more layers as the minutes rolled by. The 2021 pours a deep, slightly hazy ruby color with an opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart, mostly black fruit: currants (for dayzzzzz!), blackberries, Montmorency cherry, tobacco, pencil shavings, a touch of Poblano pepper, a kiss of VA, and abundant, racy minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is extremely long and grippy. Dark to the core, this wine. And yet, there is a depth to the soul that makes it so accessible. Like listening to Portishead, Live at the Roseland NYC. Profound. If Lupina, Maus, Paratus and Hamilton draw any similarities, this will be a really fun vintage of Ketan’s wines to follow for decades to come. Drink now with patience and through 2051. — a day ago