No doubt, on the downslope, but not too far from its peak, or in a bad way.
Lots of mature red fruit, tannins still prominent but well-resolved. Redolent of mineral, Rutherford-like dust, and tobacco. Bracing acidity, helping to lift the fruit, overcoming almost seventeen years of bottle age. Light rim. Moderate finish. Truly old-styled Napa cabernet sauvignon, as is made no longer. Good-bye, dear friend.
This was quite a deal back in the day. $13? The Markham may have been the best of the '94 Cal Cabs.
I disagree somewhat, as other non-reserve 1994 California reds have held up more substantially.
Examples: Laurel Glen, Forman, La Jota, Girard, Gallo, Liparita, Shafer, etc.
I’m with you on both of these, and agree the Markham was really great QPR. It also has lastest very well. I saved quite a few and have one left. I remember the Knights Valley discounting to around $11 at LAWC. Those two, and the Gallo Frei Ranch for around $13-14 were great everyday wines. I actually cellared too many of these low level 93-97 cabs.
Victor, most of the wines you mention were at higher price points than these. I’m with you on Laurel Glen, though I don’t know that it drank as well throughout the 97-2010 life as the Markham.
Truly old-styled SONOMA cabernet sauvignon, as is made no longer. Good-bye, dear friend.
Knight’s Valley is Sonoma, which most people wouldn’t think of aging at this price point.
Cheers, Kris
Thanks for the note, I still have one of these kicking around the cellar somewhere, need to find it and drink it up.
I meant best at that price point. I still have a Montebello & a few Montelenas which I’m sure will be nice.
I thought that Knights Valley straddles Napa and Sonoma.
This is a Sonoma wine. I thought this was a terrific Cab. I went through about a case and a half and had the last bottle back in '05. I always thought these were best with about 7 years of age. At that time the rustic tannins settled down a bit. Terrific QPR in its day!
Byron
Opened one of these a month or two ago and was very pleasantly surprised at what I found. Certainly agree with Victor’s take. What a deal way back when (I think the $14.99 sticker was still on the bottle) and it was still quite enjoyable and drank far beyond its price/pedigree. Hard to find CA cabs of this quality level and aging capability that please in the same way. Found one other bottle and a mag which I plan to drink in the next 6 months give or take as I don’t think it will get any better with more age.
What’s funny is I checked an old WS cabernet guide c. 97-98. The Knights Valley got 91 pts, but surprisingly it says “drink through 2000”, while the Alluvium says “through 2006”.
I also remembered another even cheaper Sonoma QPR cab from back then, Chateau Souverain Alexander Valley. My favorite Cab, and go-to wine in the pre-94 vintages was the Hess Collection.
My wife sells the Knights Valley. It went through a down phase in the latter 90s early 00s as far as quality and price increase. They’ve actually reduced the price a little and also have pu better wine in the bottle over the last few vintages. I think it floats around for $16 a bottle, and while it’s less structured and more user-friendly than the likes of 94, it’s drinkable.
Funny, I also found 2 bottles of Souverain - opened one thinking it was probably dead and while clearly not as good as the Beringer, it was surprisingly drinkable and “decent”.
As I find and try a number of the cheaper CA bottlings that I bought when I was first getting into wine in the 1995-1998 time frame, I have found a good number to still be very much alive, whether white or red. I’ve found it fun to open 2-3 of these random bottles on a particular night and just see how they are doing and which are worth having more than a glass of. Been a prety good sign that I haven’t yet been forced to go back to the cellar and pull something else in order to find something worth drinking.
Victor’s right
How so? I’m pretty sure all of Knights Valley is Sonoma. Perhaps some geographical description would have part of it in Napa (though I doubt it) but isn’t all of the AVA in Sonoma? I thought the edge of the AVA WAS defined by the county line, with some bordering Napa and some bordering Lake. Regardless, I think all of Beringer’s land is lower in Knights Valley not near the ridges. Peter Michael is up higher, but too is still all Sonoma.