The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Rancho del Oso is a chunky, muscular effort that reveals the earthier side of this cuvee. As longtime readers know, the Beringer winery blends all their top single vineyards into their flagship wine, the Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. At the same time, for members of their private club, they offer several hundred cases of these same vineyards bottled separately as an educational journey through different Napa Valley terroirs considered to be the finest in their program. Interestingly, the Private Reserve blend always seems to eclipse the component parts, as evidenced by the following tasting notes. Tel. (866) 708-9463

This single-vineyard wine is only available at the winery and emerges from the component parts utilized in the Private Reserve blend.I thought the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Rancho del Oso, which has shown so well when bottled separately, was a light cuvee, charming, seductive, but not nearly as deep and concentrated as the other single-vineyard wines. It’s always a fascinating education to taste through these component parts, but the resulting blend that Ed Sbragia puts together, the extraordinary Private Reserve, is one of the great Cabernet Sauvignons of California and he has fashioned a succession of beauties since 1991. In fact, there are two gorgeous ones in the market, the profound 2001 and the flamboyant, exotic 2002.Tel. (707) 963-7115; Fax (707) 963-1735