Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over a several hour period. No formal notes. I figured this would be a baby and it certainly was. At this point, everything is wound up into a tight coil. The nose is loaded with dark crunchy fruits, green bell pepper, tobacco, dried Italian herbs, aromatic wood and light baking spices. On the palate, the fruit is super fresh. This comes across elegant however the structure is pretty significant; the acid in particular with the tannin being a bit more on the sneaky side. I drank alongside the 2018 Beta “Maus” and while the nose on the San Leonardo was a bit more exotic, these shared a lot of similarities from a body, texture and structure standpoint. I expect this will begin to show better after 2026 however, I have no plans to touch my remaining bottle until after 2030. Patience will be handsomely rewarded. — 3 years ago

barak heller hayun

9.0

(French) colombard used to be the most planted white variety in Israel. used as the white blend workhorse. lost it's popularity a few decades ago and now being used again.

most winemakers consider it a fresh not to be aged crisp week day quality sipper.
this is my second try, the other one was ok-ish.

11.5% abv

high acidity.
light body.

apricot, peach, grated 🍋peel and a hint of nuttines. maybe a guava slight memory.

balanced and interesting.

medium + 🎯

had it on it's own by the pool while vacationing in the dead sea desert area.

lovely sipper and great vfm (79 nis) — 5 years ago

James Forsyth

8.9

A simple styled New England IPA. I put this down to the session strength, which makes it much more palatable. A good one for #internationalbeerday — 8 years ago

with Gautham

JJ Lumia

9.2

I just love Hall wines. The Napa Valley Cab is always fantastic, reliable, and a great value considering it can hang with wines 2-3x the price. The 2013 is no exception. Yes, it's young. But a beta test was needed to see how much more acquisition was in store. [Answer: plenty] A lot of black cherry, currant, and mocha. The tannins are strong, as expected; if you can't resist, give this a good, long decant. But you'll be better served by laying it down and letting it do its thing. You can thank me later. — 9 years ago

Peidong Yang

9.0

Old vine Shiraz from Australia. — 11 years ago

rachel fishman

10

Amazing cab- Cali. Beta wine. — 13 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over two days with consistent notes. This is my first bottle of the 2018 “Maus” which shares the same clonal material as the fruit from Montecillo but sits about 1000ft below. No formal notes. The overall impression of freshness is unassailable. At this stage, the wine is super duper primary with cassis and tobacco taking a dominant role. There seems to be some fairly good tannin management happening because the effect on the palate is moderate. Acid, on the other hand, is medium++ and there may be a touch of VA; all good though. This is a very light, elegant and natural expression of Cabernet Sauvignon that’s showing a bit green at the moment however, I feel very confident that time will help this flesh out. Patience will be rewarded. Drink from 2025-2038+. — 3 years ago

barak heller hayun

8.9

terrible days in Israel.

an Israeli off dry riesling and that's a change.

11% abv

medium to full body.
high acidity.

white flowers, lemon rind and leaves, lime, peach, green apple peel and hints of ginger.

on it's own sweetness is hinted.
combined with not too spicy indian style veggie take away it felt much sweeter and lifted the cuisine.

medium 🎯

very interesting. feels like a good but not great kabinett german Riesling.

great vfm @ 80 nis. — 5 years ago

Brendan Baker

9.5

Structured and classic, really glad I took a flyer on this producer 😍😍😍 — 8 years ago

JJ Lumia

9.3

Way too early but found this on the cheap at Costco. Wanted to beta test. Recommendation: stock up. Blackberry fruit is quickly overtaken by bacon fat, iron, tobacco, leather, and floral flavors. The tannins remain strong, if not astringent, providing ample backbone suggesting this can easily go another 15 years. Buyer beware: this needs to be your thing. — 8 years ago

Bassel Sommelier

8.9

Very crisp especially at ME lounge me Milan — 10 years ago

Morten Nass

9.1

2011 vintage — 11 years ago

Nathaniel Mott

8.9

Jammy red fruits with smooth tannins and slight spice. None of the vegetal character that sometimes overpowers Cabernet Franc from the Finger Lakes. Finish is a little short for my liking, though. — 12 years ago

Erik Longabardi

9.4

Burgundian, lemon pith, opulent. Lovely as it progressed to day three when I finished — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

My first experience with Tegan’s Chardonnay and I nerded out on this one. The fruit for this wine was the last harvest from the “Chuy” vineyard, a dry-farmed mountain vineyard at 1000ft elevation with 45yr old vines. It was particularly fun for me because Ketan Mody also harvested Chardonnay from Chuy in 2018 to make a one-off Chardonnay under his Beta label. Both are delicious expressions of the variety. My notes on this one below:

Popped and poured. A very brilliant color reminds me of a yellow diamond and beautifully transparent with medium viscosity. On the nose, kumquat, passion fruit, and lime. Slightly reductive. On the palate, tropical fruit and saline minerals with the silkiest of textures. Medium+ acid helps deliver a long, satisfying finish. Lovely now but could probably cellar for a bit too. If only I had been allocated more than one bottle. — 5 years ago

Roger Custer

9.2

Nice summer wine. Bubbling Riesling from upstate New York. We were skeptical at first with the carbonation, but it turned out the right balance of sweet and fruity with a hint of dryness. Lots of grapefruit and citrus come through and a nice finish. — 6 years ago

Ned Gray Creed

9.0

Pregame. Congrats to Beta Wines on a successful first release this morning. — 8 years ago

Jacob Vaughan

9.5

Very good bouquet, which leans toward the oaky side then the fruity. More like a dark current then berry taste on alpha. The oak mostly hits in the beta. — 9 years ago

Jeremy Autry

10

Brought this one home from South Africa on my honeymoon. It did not disappoint on my 10 year anniversary. — 10 years ago

Rich Reader

8.9

having a taste in Les Clos on Townsend with another Androidgenous user, though she is not in the beta. — 12 years ago