It is a fruit-forward, softer, more flamboyant, already seductive effort displaying gorgeous notes of chocolaty creme de casis, some spicy, high quality, toasty oak, a rich, plush, savory, expansive mid-palate, and a long heady finish.

Review

Robert Parker Review: The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve may not equal the fabulous concentration and intensity of the 2001, but it’s not far off the mark. It is a fruit-forward, softer, more flamboyant, already seductive effort displaying gorgeous notes of chocolaty creme de cassis, some spicy, high-quality, toasty oak, a rich, plush, savory, expansive mid-palate, and a long, heady finish with elevated glycerin and plenty of sweet tannin and fruit. This wine is delicious yet promises to age gorgeously for 15-20 years. Ed Sbragia compares it to the 1992 which, by the way, is drinking superbly in 2005, but is one of those rare vintages that has never gone through a closed period. 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. - Robert Parker Wine Spectator Review: Quite loamy and earthy, yet there's a savory richness, with dried currant, sage and cedary oak flavors. Excellent balance and persistence. Best from 2008 through 2012. 14,200 cases made. –JL

Wine maker notes

Since 1981, when Winemaster Ed Sbragia first began blending the most expressive components from Beringer's best vineyards to craft the Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, he and Bob Steinhauer, vineyard manager at the time, worked steadily to identify Napa Valley sites that they thought could be developed into producing the rich, intensely colored and flavored Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that Ed requires for the Private Reserve. In 2004, Ed had eight reserve-potential vineyards to draw from, choosing the best lots after vinification and aging for a final blend that combines the various vineyard expressions into a well-balanced, full-flavored whole. In any vintage, Ed's goal with the Private Reserve is to make a wine that is greater than the sum of its parts. With Cabernet of this quality, Ed believes in taking a minimalist approach to winemaking. Vinifying the fruit from each vineyard separately, Ed and his long-time winemaking partner Laurie Hook used tailored pump-over techniques for optimal extraction, and then aged the wines in hand-selected, custom-toasted barrels of new French Nevers oak from coopers with whom they have long-established relationships. The winemakers put the wines through 100-percent malolactic fermentation for added complexity and softness, and aged them just over two years before Ed selected the blend that he felt layers the personalities of the vineyards into a harmonious whole.