From the southern end of Napa Valley, the 2009 Pinot Noir is one of Beringer’s finest Pinots made to date. About 10% is vinified in a carbonic manner and it has 30% whole clusters. The wine does not reveal a lot of color, but that’s never that important for Pinot Noir. Elegant, sweet notes of strawberries, black cherries, loamy soil and forest floor emerge from this stylish, medium-bodied Pinot. Drink it over the next 4-5 years. As always, Beringer sells all their single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons that make up the blend for the Private Reserve to their VIP customers at the winery or through their mailing list. Interestingly, each year when I taste through these wines, the sum of the individual parts is always the best wine. In short, the Private Reserve always seems to outscore and show more complexity than most of the single vineyard Cabernets. Nevertheless, it is an exercise in single vineyard terroirs and is an interesting process. Usually there are around 250 cases of each of these single vineyard offerings. The single vineyard offerings are all noteworthy, and analytically, they are more similar than dissimilar. The alcohols range from a low of 14.5% to 14.9%. Not surprisingly, one of my favorites, the Bancroft Ranch, was the largest component part of the Private Reserve.Tel. (707) 963-7115; Fax (707) 963-1735