Bevan - Proprietary Red EE Tench Vineyard 2016

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Bevan Description

Russell Bevan has a led a varied life. Born in Ukiah, CA he earned his Master's in Philosophy from Gonzaga University in Washington. His wine career began with working for a Gallo distributor, selling to grocery stores. Then, in the mid-’90s, he wrote a wine column for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. This gave him access to many of the great winemakers in California who later became mentors when he moved to Northern California.

In 2004, their friend Kal Showket (owner of Showket Vineyard, since sold to Peter Michael and now known as Au Paradis Vineyard) offered to sell him a ton of Cabernet Sauvignon. He leaped at the chance, and Bevan Cellars was born. By 2012, he was able to migrate a portion of the production to Napa. “That’s when things began to take off for Bevan Cellars,” said Russell. “We had a beautiful facility to host new customers and grow the brand.” By 2017, their Napa production had grown significantly, and they were invited by the Tench family to move into their newly built winemaking facility next to the Tench Vineyard. “With our strong ties to the vineyard source and the Oakville AVA, it was an obvious choice for us,” said Russell.

“We approach winemaking from a texture standpoint,” said Russell. “We know that special vineyards will give us flavor and aromatics, but managing textural balance is where the real magic lies."

-- Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent

Wine Advocate: 99+ Points

Some of the top wines from this spectacular vintage are starting to close down, including this impressive beauty. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Proprietary Red EE Tench Vineyard is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot. Just a little more subdued than when I last tasted it, the nose features gorgeous blueberry pie, molten chocolate, plum preserves and mulberries notions with hints of camphor, cloves, earth and cigar box. Full-bodied and voluptuously endowed, with decadently velvet-textured tannins, the acid sits perfectly balanced in the background, finishing with epic length and so many layers. The way this is headed, I would not be surprised if it emerges in a few years hitting glorious, three-digit perfection. Rating : 99+