91 Insider points
Nose with blackberry, anise, vanilla and a little heat. Nice fruit on the palate with cassis, clove, spice with toasted cedar. Not overly complex, but a nice every day drinker with decent balance and well integrated tannin. Drink now and over the next several years. A slam-dunk for your holiday festivities!
--Premier Sommelier Team
“You won't hear many complaints about the 2016 vintage from Sonoma winemakers,” writes the Wine Spectator.
What do you get when you take four life-long friends (Mark Beringer, David Duckhorn, Harry Merlo, and Matt Miller to be exact), with connections to great Napa Valley winegrowing history, current successful wine industry careers and a goal to together produce high-quality appellated wines from some of the most prized regions out there? Umm…that would be Et Cetera.
Weinhorn Estates, producer of Et-cetera wines is a collaboration between cousins Ryan Weinert and David Duckhorn (both natives to Napa). Et Cetera Cabernet Sauvignon utilizes fruit sources that provide the best value from California, including North Coast, Lodi and Central Coast. The wines are produced under the direct winemaking oversight of both Ryan and David; both are directly involved in the sourcing, making and regularly tasting of the Et Cetera wines.
The Et Cetera Wine Company is focused solely on quality and value. Made to drink at release and featuring gobs of fresh blackberry and black cherry with soft, enveloping tannins, this young red will please Cab, Merlot and Pinot fans in equal measure.
Fruit forward with a supple, elegant finish. Dark berry fruit with a hint of oak. Blackberry and currants with a nice even mid-palate that ends with a dark round finish.
Mark Beringer, David Duckhorn and Matt Miller were raised in tiny St. Helena and friends since kindergarten. At college, the childhood friends met Harry, a viticulture major from Sonoma County. All three achieved great things following graduation, with wildly successful careers in their own nook of the wine industry—from grape growing, to oenology to wine distribution.
With such an impressive combined pedigree, this three could have certainly chosen an exclusive, luxury approach for collaboration. Instead, their Et Cetera Wine Company is focused solely on quality and value. Made to drink at release and featuring gobs of fresh blackberry and black cherry with soft, enveloping tannins, this young red will please Cab, Merlot and Pinot fans in equal measure.
These appellation specific wines are created by Mark Beringer. The hallmarks of this label are elegance and food-friendliness.
This is Cab to enjoy on Tuesday night with take-out or pasta with rich meat sauce; to enjoy again with friends on Saturday night with soft cheeses and braised meats.
