Hi fellow casemates!
I have a bottle of the b24 to report back on. Due to work travel I couldn’t get to it last night, but I will be opening it up tonight and reporting back in the evening, West coast time.
@klezman - glad to hear it! We enjoyed making it - among the many wines we produce, folks tell us B24 is their favorite, everyday go to wine. Cheers, DK co-founder.
@bcellars@klezman Just a casual observation, at $69 per bottle at the winery, your B24 is not in my “everyday go to wine” price point. But God Bless those who can afford this as an everyday wine
Good Afternoon Fellow CaseMates…
I couldn’t believe when I read my email a few days ago and was promised a “very special red win” I was excited beyond delight. I waited on the Fedex label to be approved and was delighted to see B Cellars 24, which sounded amazing. Well sometimes the label isn’t correct…I received an amazing 25 instead!!!
So Let’s get into the notes…
Pop N Pour
Glass for me… Glass for wife… rest into the decanter…
Dark Garnet color
First Smell with a few swirls brought a darker earthy bouquet. Some notes of Black cherry, Black Pepper and Blackberry…
First taste…very tight, dark rich tannins but very well balanced.
After 30 minutes in the glass, Dark Cherry jam, Vanilla, still earthy though, the tannins tamed down and the mouthfeel became much rounder and smooth.
I allowed my initial glass to continue to sit while slowly sipping and enjoying a relaxing evening.
Around the hour and half mark when I was down to about 2 oz left, I noticed cocoa powder on the nose and a slight spice with the dark fruit notes.
As I poured my 2nd glass, we both noticed the same initial notes of black fruit and slight spice.
Overall I believe it’s a well made wine that should drink well with a little air now or over the next year or 2.
@MSUMike Hi Mike - this is Duffy Keys, thanks for the feedback. Both wines in small production - today mostly everything we sell is direct from the winery. We were just introduced to Casemates and wanted to meet some new enthusiasts. The vineyards and winemaker Kirk Venge are the key to our success. Blend 24 - our super tuscan inspired wine is the real deal - sangiovese comes from Antica (aka Antinori family up on Atlas peak - can’t get any more Italian than that). The Blend 25 - any thing with grill marks on it makes this wine talk. The Kick ranch Syrah (Sonoma’s Rincon Valley - an incredible block of the NW slope of Spring Mountain). Then fold in our Oakville cab from Skellenger Lane vineyard farmed by Renteria and you’ve got a wine with layers of flavors not easily replicated by a single vineyard equivalent.
@southpaw25 The two Blend 24 cab vineyards in the 2016 vintage are (1) Nemerever (oakville provenance); this 2o acre ranch is located adjacent to B Cellars and is planted predominantly to clone 337; the vines average 15-17 years old. Star Vineyard is a rutherford provenance situated about a mile and a half from us in oakville. These two neighboring appellations couldn’t be more different; hence they make a stellar combination blended together. We make the Star Vineyard Cabernet as a vineyard designate; for what it’s worth, our 2016 vintage rating is not published yet but the 2014 and 2015 bottling of the Star Cabernet awarded B Cellars 94 and 95 points respectively from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
Thanks for checking back with me…Sunrise At B Cellars!
Initial impressions, having just arrived home and opened this up. This is from about 5-10 minutes of air in the glass.
Colour: red-purple, with a clear meniscus, nice and clear except for one floating bit of sediment.
Aromas: Without much in the way of air, I’m getting a lot of vanilla with additional layers of mint, red fruit (cranberry, cherry?), a hint of some earthiness, and flowers. The nose keeps changing with just about every sniff. Some of the sniffs have some hint of alcohol but not much.
Flavours: surprisingly soft wine! The vanilla carries through to the palate, but the fruit profile is darker than the aromas suggest. There’s more of a juicy blackberry/plum/cherry combination. There’s also more in the way of herbs and spices along with the minty/eucalyptus notes that repeat from the nose. Viscosity is nice, giving this a medium body. Not much in the way of tannin. Acidity is soft but balanced.
Finish: medium to medium+ in length. There is a bit more tannin here than previously, but light smooth(ish) tannin is about all you’ve got here. Vanilla remains a prominent note along with herbs and cinnamon. There is a hint of bitterness on the finish as well.
We let our toddler sniff it. He liked it and wanted to taste. A dipped finger lead to him asking for more tastes!
molarchae’s initial comment: this smells and tastes kind of like I’d expect given the blend.
I’m curious to see how this evolves with a bunch of air. I’m not convinced this is a wine that will age for 10+ years, but I suspect this will improve for at least 4-6 more years from now.
We’ll report back later after we’ve had it with a bone-in rib steak that’s currently soaking in the sous-vide.
This turned out to be a mediocre pairing with the rib steak for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on. But we made a pan sauce with Dijon mustard and mushrooms that it went with very well.
I think this would be a better pairing for something like ribs or smoked brisket compared to a steak.
Bottle is gone now. We enjoyed it and it vanished in relatively short order once we sat down to dinner. This wine does pretty much beg for food at this stage in its life. It’s a bit younger than I prefer right now, but I suspect it’ll be a better wine in 2-3 years and will continue to improve for a bit beyond that.
If you like big Cab-based blends and want something more sophisticated than a $20 bottle from the grocery store, this wine is for you.
Really glad B cellars is back online. Really enjoyed their wine on the old site. Don’t remember it being this expensive, but no doubt the quality is there. If it wasn’t for a full cellar would be in for a few. Will have to see if I can squeeze in room for two. Cheers.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2016 B Cellars Mixed Red Blends - $60 = 8.32%
@chipgreen Hello - my 2 cents as the winery owner, Casemates does the shipping fulfillment and they have way more shipping cost leverage than us. I know for certain we can not achieve their shipping prices and we do next to zero discounting unless you are part of our Society cellar club or on our allocation list. There a lot of good wine out there; we “go beyond the expected” and to do this, we have to charge what we do. Love to have you get to know us better. Duffy - co founder.
I’m not very tempted at this price. Have always managed to find these for $50 or less (sometimes significantly less). Even the additional case discount seems underwhelming. I don’t doubt that they are very nice wines though, for those willing to pony up for them.
Our love for Sangiovese inspired this creative interpretation of a “Super Tuscan” style wine. A generous aromatic display of blue fruits, strawberry jam and violets leads to full palate of rich dark fruits and espresso roast that is both layered and lingering. Great balance, vibrant acidity and refined tannins make this wine a perfect pairing with any savory dish.
Our Blend 24 from the 2016 vintage represents the best of the noble Sangiovese and the great Cabernet Sauvignon. The aromatics offer a refined display of blue fruits, strawberry jam and floral notes leading to a ripe palate of rich, dark fruit that is layered and lingering. Great balance, vibrant acidity and refined tannins make this a perfect pairing with any savory dish.
B Cellars Chef Derick suggests preparing our Chicken Skewer with Wild Rice, Currants & Toasted Pine Nut Agrodolce with B Cellars Blend 24 for the perfect pairing.
Blend: 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Sangiovese, 14% Petite Sirah
Unfiltered and Unfined
Appellation: Napa Valley
Alcohol: 14.9%
2016 Blend 25
Power and grace define this rich blend of bold Cabernet Sauvignon and juicy, ripe Syrah. In the glass, Blend 25 illuminates a deep garnet hue with violet highlights. Initial flavors of blue fruit, espresso roast, and cherry cola layer with aromas of huckleberry jam, sweet tobacco, saddle leather and freshly cracked black pepper. A voluptuous mouthfeel of velvety tannins and a fine tuned acidity create a seamless, deeply satisfying, full-bodied wine.
B Cellars Chef Derick suggests preparing a Lamb Brochette for the perfect pairing.
When Jim Borsack and Duffy Keys met in 2002, both executives were exploring new career paths. Over a drop of the good stuff, they discovered a shared taste in wine—and an interest in acquiring vineyard property. Less than a year later, they scrapped their solo endeavors and formed B Cellars.
Committed to establishing the best in Oakville wineries, Borsack and Keys founded B Cellars on two absolute principals:
Producing exceptional artisan wines season after season.
Developing distinct flavors by blending wines from mutually complementary varietals.
Shortly after inception, Kirk Venge joined B Cellars. Named One of the Top 20 New Winemakers in the world by Food & Wine Magazine, Kirk brought nearly four decades of wine-making experience and a strong knowledge of the Napa Valley appellation.
Today, B Cellars Vineyards and Winery expertly marries both old and new world winemaking techniques to create blends with balance, complexity, and layers of flavor. Our team members remain committed to our artisan approach and to curating food-centric wines that deliver an unparalleled wine and food pairing experience.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
@ScottW58 Hey Scott - good memory; we had some fun experiences with woot. Since building our new winery on the oakville cross road, we’ve pretty much been selling from the winery. We hooked up with Casemates from the same folks who introduced us to woot. Hope you put your toe in the water and pick up our two pack - the clock’s ticking. Best regards, DK
@sammypedram - Good eye Sammy! We had no idea the vintage year would be visible my oversight. That said, these are two delicious, food centric beauties worthy of a fine cellar to join. DK
Seems very expensive…I just paid $11 for a Beringer Paso Robles Red Blend at Costco…really delicious…love that about wine findings…value can beat price if you look…
@dkralston No question price is a relative thing. The way we build these wines - we have to charge what we do. For example, there is no field blending in our production approach, each of our blended wines are vinified as a stand alone wine and then blended to achieve a particular style and flavor profile. Our vineyard relationships are with time-tested proven growers whose grapes have been creating stellar wine for well regarded labels that have been around far longer than B. In 2014 we opened our purpose built winery including a network of barrel storage caves and a state-of-art production facilities supported by the newest generation equipment. From our perspective our investment is delivering the right results. Best regards, DK
@dkralston@klezman Thanks for the note; in all cases, we let the fruit set the tone. We do a combination of things; reds for example typically go through a 5+day cold soak in tank prior to the onset of native yeast fermentation. Total maceration time, including fermentation can run 20-25 days. The result is wines that display great depth, balance, color and red/ black fruit aromatics, smooth tannins and bright acidity.
@klezman Personally at $60/$65 per I’m pretty picky and like to have tasted it myself first or at least have some experience with the winery. I have limited experience here, maybe some lesser priced wines? Not sure. And California sangiovese is not on my go to list, even in a blend…so…
@klezman Oh your rat report was awesome, much better than my last attempt. But sometimes crp happens. Or is this the wrong site for crp?
This offer seemed like a reach, but hopefully diverse offers like this keep showing up, regardless of price point. At least it is cooling down in some parts of the country and we are getting to where it’s acceptable shipping temps ha!
Hi fellow casemates!
I have a bottle of the b24 to report back on. Due to work travel I couldn’t get to it last night, but I will be opening it up tonight and reporting back in the evening, West coast time.
@klezman - glad to hear it! We enjoyed making it - among the many wines we produce, folks tell us B24 is their favorite, everyday go to wine. Cheers, DK co-founder.
@bcellars @klezman Just a casual observation, at $69 per bottle at the winery, your B24 is not in my “everyday go to wine” price point. But God Bless those who can afford this as an everyday wine
@kaolis I was thinking the same thing!
Good Afternoon Fellow CaseMates…
I couldn’t believe when I read my email a few days ago and was promised a “very special red win” I was excited beyond delight. I waited on the Fedex label to be approved and was delighted to see B Cellars 24, which sounded amazing. Well sometimes the label isn’t correct…I received an amazing 25 instead!!!
So Let’s get into the notes…
Pop N Pour
Glass for me… Glass for wife… rest into the decanter…
Dark Garnet color
First Smell with a few swirls brought a darker earthy bouquet. Some notes of Black cherry, Black Pepper and Blackberry…
First taste…very tight, dark rich tannins but very well balanced.
After 30 minutes in the glass, Dark Cherry jam, Vanilla, still earthy though, the tannins tamed down and the mouthfeel became much rounder and smooth.
I allowed my initial glass to continue to sit while slowly sipping and enjoying a relaxing evening.
Around the hour and half mark when I was down to about 2 oz left, I noticed cocoa powder on the nose and a slight spice with the dark fruit notes.
As I poured my 2nd glass, we both noticed the same initial notes of black fruit and slight spice.
Overall I believe it’s a well made wine that should drink well with a little air now or over the next year or 2.
Thanks Casemates.
@MSUMike Hi Mike - this is Duffy Keys, thanks for the feedback. Both wines in small production - today mostly everything we sell is direct from the winery. We were just introduced to Casemates and wanted to meet some new enthusiasts. The vineyards and winemaker Kirk Venge are the key to our success. Blend 24 - our super tuscan inspired wine is the real deal - sangiovese comes from Antica (aka Antinori family up on Atlas peak - can’t get any more Italian than that). The Blend 25 - any thing with grill marks on it makes this wine talk. The Kick ranch Syrah (Sonoma’s Rincon Valley - an incredible block of the NW slope of Spring Mountain). Then fold in our Oakville cab from Skellenger Lane vineyard farmed by Renteria and you’ve got a wine with layers of flavors not easily replicated by a single vineyard equivalent.
@bcellars Thanks for the insight. What vineyard is this particular 24 cab sourced from?
@southpaw25 The two Blend 24 cab vineyards in the 2016 vintage are (1) Nemerever (oakville provenance); this 2o acre ranch is located adjacent to B Cellars and is planted predominantly to clone 337; the vines average 15-17 years old. Star Vineyard is a rutherford provenance situated about a mile and a half from us in oakville. These two neighboring appellations couldn’t be more different; hence they make a stellar combination blended together. We make the Star Vineyard Cabernet as a vineyard designate; for what it’s worth, our 2016 vintage rating is not published yet but the 2014 and 2015 bottling of the Star Cabernet awarded B Cellars 94 and 95 points respectively from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
Thanks for checking back with me…Sunrise At B Cellars!
Salted chocolate caramels on woot today. Just sayin’
As promised, rat reporting in!
Initial impressions, having just arrived home and opened this up. This is from about 5-10 minutes of air in the glass.
Colour: red-purple, with a clear meniscus, nice and clear except for one floating bit of sediment.
Aromas: Without much in the way of air, I’m getting a lot of vanilla with additional layers of mint, red fruit (cranberry, cherry?), a hint of some earthiness, and flowers. The nose keeps changing with just about every sniff. Some of the sniffs have some hint of alcohol but not much.
Flavours: surprisingly soft wine! The vanilla carries through to the palate, but the fruit profile is darker than the aromas suggest. There’s more of a juicy blackberry/plum/cherry combination. There’s also more in the way of herbs and spices along with the minty/eucalyptus notes that repeat from the nose. Viscosity is nice, giving this a medium body. Not much in the way of tannin. Acidity is soft but balanced.
Finish: medium to medium+ in length. There is a bit more tannin here than previously, but light smooth(ish) tannin is about all you’ve got here. Vanilla remains a prominent note along with herbs and cinnamon. There is a hint of bitterness on the finish as well.
We let our toddler sniff it. He liked it and wanted to taste. A dipped finger lead to him asking for more tastes!
molarchae’s initial comment: this smells and tastes kind of like I’d expect given the blend.
I’m curious to see how this evolves with a bunch of air. I’m not convinced this is a wine that will age for 10+ years, but I suspect this will improve for at least 4-6 more years from now.
We’ll report back later after we’ve had it with a bone-in rib steak that’s currently soaking in the sous-vide.
This turned out to be a mediocre pairing with the rib steak for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on. But we made a pan sauce with Dijon mustard and mushrooms that it went with very well.
I think this would be a better pairing for something like ribs or smoked brisket compared to a steak.
Bottle is gone now. We enjoyed it and it vanished in relatively short order once we sat down to dinner. This wine does pretty much beg for food at this stage in its life. It’s a bit younger than I prefer right now, but I suspect it’ll be a better wine in 2-3 years and will continue to improve for a bit beyond that.
If you like big Cab-based blends and want something more sophisticated than a $20 bottle from the grocery store, this wine is for you.
Really glad B cellars is back online. Really enjoyed their wine on the old site. Don’t remember it being this expensive, but no doubt the quality is there. If it wasn’t for a full cellar would be in for a few. Will have to see if I can squeeze in room for two. Cheers.
@ryannel Thanks Ryannel; hope you can shoehorn at least one two bottle pack in! DK
B Cellars Mixed Red Blends
2 bottles for $119.99 $59.99/bottle + $4/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $659.99 $55/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2016 B Cellars Blend 24
2016 B Cellars Blend 25
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2016 B Cellars Mixed Red Blends - $60 = 8.32%
@chipgreen Hello - my 2 cents as the winery owner, Casemates does the shipping fulfillment and they have way more shipping cost leverage than us. I know for certain we can not achieve their shipping prices and we do next to zero discounting unless you are part of our Society cellar club or on our allocation list. There a lot of good wine out there; we “go beyond the expected” and to do this, we have to charge what we do. Love to have you get to know us better. Duffy - co founder.
I’m not very tempted at this price. Have always managed to find these for $50 or less (sometimes significantly less). Even the additional case discount seems underwhelming. I don’t doubt that they are very nice wines though, for those willing to pony up for them.
Live it-up!!!
A Beautiful Day in Napa!
2016 Blend 24
Our love for Sangiovese inspired this creative interpretation of a “Super Tuscan” style wine. A generous aromatic display of blue fruits, strawberry jam and violets leads to full palate of rich dark fruits and espresso roast that is both layered and lingering. Great balance, vibrant acidity and refined tannins make this wine a perfect pairing with any savory dish.
Our Blend 24 from the 2016 vintage represents the best of the noble Sangiovese and the great Cabernet Sauvignon. The aromatics offer a refined display of blue fruits, strawberry jam and floral notes leading to a ripe palate of rich, dark fruit that is layered and lingering. Great balance, vibrant acidity and refined tannins make this a perfect pairing with any savory dish.
B Cellars Chef Derick suggests preparing our Chicken Skewer with Wild Rice, Currants & Toasted Pine Nut Agrodolce with B Cellars Blend 24 for the perfect pairing.
2016 Blend 25
Power and grace define this rich blend of bold Cabernet Sauvignon and juicy, ripe Syrah. In the glass, Blend 25 illuminates a deep garnet hue with violet highlights. Initial flavors of blue fruit, espresso roast, and cherry cola layer with aromas of huckleberry jam, sweet tobacco, saddle leather and freshly cracked black pepper. A voluptuous mouthfeel of velvety tannins and a fine tuned acidity create a seamless, deeply satisfying, full-bodied wine.
B Cellars Chef Derick suggests preparing a Lamb Brochette for the perfect pairing.
Price Comparison
$1009.43/case at B Cellars Winery (including shipping)
About The Winery
Winery: B Cellars Vineyards and Winery
Owners: Jim Borsack, Duffy Keys
Founded: 2003
Location: Napa, CA
When Jim Borsack and Duffy Keys met in 2002, both executives were exploring new career paths. Over a drop of the good stuff, they discovered a shared taste in wine—and an interest in acquiring vineyard property. Less than a year later, they scrapped their solo endeavors and formed B Cellars.
Committed to establishing the best in Oakville wineries, Borsack and Keys founded B Cellars on two absolute principals:
Shortly after inception, Kirk Venge joined B Cellars. Named One of the Top 20 New Winemakers in the world by Food & Wine Magazine, Kirk brought nearly four decades of wine-making experience and a strong knowledge of the Napa Valley appellation.
Today, B Cellars Vineyards and Winery expertly marries both old and new world winemaking techniques to create blends with balance, complexity, and layers of flavor. Our team members remain committed to our artisan approach and to curating food-centric wines that deliver an unparalleled wine and food pairing experience.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Friday, November 9th - Tuesday, November 13th
This used to be pretty popular on woot in the old days iirc.
@ScottW58 Hey Scott - good memory; we had some fun experiences with woot. Since building our new winery on the oakville cross road, we’ve pretty much been selling from the winery. We hooked up with Casemates from the same folks who introduced us to woot. Hope you put your toe in the water and pick up our two pack - the clock’s ticking. Best regards, DK
Photo is 2013 for both wines but product being sold is 2016 vintage for both wines.
@sammypedram - Good eye Sammy! We had no idea the vintage year would be visible my oversight. That said, these are two delicious, food centric beauties worthy of a fine cellar to join. DK
Seems very expensive…I just paid $11 for a Beringer Paso Robles Red Blend at Costco…really delicious…love that about wine findings…value can beat price if you look…
@dkralston No question price is a relative thing. The way we build these wines - we have to charge what we do. For example, there is no field blending in our production approach, each of our blended wines are vinified as a stand alone wine and then blended to achieve a particular style and flavor profile. Our vineyard relationships are with time-tested proven growers whose grapes have been creating stellar wine for well regarded labels that have been around far longer than B. In 2014 we opened our purpose built winery including a network of barrel storage caves and a state-of-art production facilities supported by the newest generation equipment. From our perspective our investment is delivering the right results. Best regards, DK
@bcellars @dkralston Interesting…what style are you shooting for in each wine?
@dkralston @klezman Thanks for the note; in all cases, we let the fruit set the tone. We do a combination of things; reds for example typically go through a 5+day cold soak in tank prior to the onset of native yeast fermentation. Total maceration time, including fermentation can run 20-25 days. The result is wines that display great depth, balance, color and red/ black fruit aromatics, smooth tannins and bright acidity.
The reemergence of the Black Tie Buy?
Hello Casemate’rs - take happy to send recipes…![In The Kitchen With BLEND 24!][1]
[1]:
This offer has been really quiet! Nobody with followup questions for the lab rats? For the winery?
@klezman Personally at $60/$65 per I’m pretty picky and like to have tasted it myself first or at least have some experience with the winery. I have limited experience here, maybe some lesser priced wines? Not sure. And California sangiovese is not on my go to list, even in a blend…so…
@kaolis I hear ya. I tried to be as helpful as I could in my rattage, but it’s pricey juice on almost any scale.
@klezman Oh your rat report was awesome, much better than my last attempt. But sometimes crp happens. Or is this the wrong site for crp?
This offer seemed like a reach, but hopefully diverse offers like this keep showing up, regardless of price point. At least it is cooling down in some parts of the country and we are getting to where it’s acceptable shipping temps ha!
@kaolis I’m not getting into the shipping debate! Glad the report was helpful.