**#1 World Wine of the Year 2019 vintage ~ 2022 edition** by James Suckling
#2 Wine Spectator Top 100, 2019 vintage ~ 2024 edition
#55 Top 100 Wines of the USA, 2019 vintage ~ 2024 edition James Suckling.
#34 Wine Spectator Top 100 (2000 edition - 1997 vintage)
 
97- Points by Colin Hay, The Drinks Business
Delicate and soft despite the sheer intensity, density and mid-palate concentration. Black liquorice, soft sweet spices and oodles of macerated berries, with a little cassis and Kirsch. Pure, refined, rich and glossy – and exceptionally long on the finish.
Blend: 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, aged for 
21 months in French oak barrels (95% new).
 
96-Points by James Suckling.
Power and grace come together beautifully in this long-running classic from a 125-year-old Napa winery. So rich, layered, structured and age-worthy. Now blended with about 20% of grapes grown in different locations around the valley but centered on Rutherford-grown fruit. The addition of 9% petit verdot gives an inky dark component and floral, violet accents.
 
Winemaker Notes
Exemplifying power, elegance, approachability, and finesse, the 2022 vintage opens with delicate dusty rose, wild violet, red berries, caramel crème, and sweet baking spice from the well-integrated oak. The palate is plush and expansive, with a bountiful core of cassis, red currant, cherry, and ripe raspberry. A velvety-smooth, viscous mouthfeel and gentle signature “Rutherford Dust” tannins contribute to its refined structure and balance. The finish lingers with notes of pomegranate, kir royale, floral, and fresh mint. Incredibly drinkable upon release, this classic Napa Valley Cabernet will remain juicy and inviting for many years to come.
 
 
When André Tchelistcheff joined Beaulieu Vineyard in 1938, he tasted the de Latour family’s private wine – what they called “Private Reserve” – from the 1936 vintage. This Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine was so distinctive that Tchelistcheff insisted it be bottled and sold as the winery’s flagship offering. In 1940, Beaulieu Vineyard released the first vintage of Private Reserve and named it in our founder’s honor. The resulting wine became the first release of Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that was destined to become Napa Valley’s first “cult” Cabernet. In 70+ years since, Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon has become the benchmark of Napa Valley Cabernet as one of the most collected American wines.
We hand selected grapes from the finest Cabernet Sauvignon vines from the western bench of the Rutherford AVA in our iconic BV Ranches No. 1 and No. 2, originally planted by Georges de Latour in the early 1900s. We focused on clonal selections (6, 4, 169, 7 and 8), which yield small berries with the high skin-to-juice ratio needed to make intense, long-lived wines. The fruit was handpicked and optically sorted once it arrived to the winery in order to ensure the highest quality selection. These specifically chosen vines are deeply rooted in the well-draining alluvial fan soils of Rutherford, considered one of the finest regions in the Napa Valley for Cabernet Sauvignon.
 
Beaulieu Vineyard is a historically significant winery in California's Rutherford AVA that has been producing wine for more than a century. During Prohibition, it managed to obtain a contract to supply sacramental wine to churches, meaning it was able to remain in production between 1920 and 1933 when the Volstead Act was repealed. This makes Beaulieu one of the longest continually operational wineries in the United States.
The company was founded in 1900 by Georges de Latour with the assistance of enologist André Tchelistcheff. Tchelistcheff went on to create the prestige cuvée Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and mentored many of the next generation of Napa winemakers, including Robert Mondavi, Mike Grgich and Joe Heitz. The company is currently part of Treasury Wine Estates.
The Beaulieu vineyards sit at the foot of the Mayacamas Mountains in the Rutherford AVA, and are planted with Bordeaux varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec.