The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Bancroft Ranch from Howell Mountain was also stunning. Much like its siblings, this wine sees 100% new French oak, shows great fruit with loads of blueberry and black raspberry fruit, a hint of chocolate, crushed rock and floral notes. All these wines are very interesting to taste by themselves, and as you can see from the final score and evaluation, the Private Reserve reflects the brilliance of the winemaker in putting together a blend that eclipses all of the single component parts. As long-time readers know, Beringer’s Private Reserve is a blend of all of the single-vineyard cuvees in various percentages that differ considerably depending on the vintage. They are available through the Private Members Club at Beringer and are not put on the market, as the only one to be released is the Private Reserve, which proves the blending skills of the winemakers. And those winemakers have been at Beringer for a long time, including Ed Sbragia, and Laurie Hook. As for the single-vineyard wines, I’ll keep my notes short, since these are only available to members. Tel. (866) 708-9463