Jay Kline

9.3

My first experience with the 2015 “Vare Vineyard” and the first of my three allocated bottles. Ketan mentioned this was his best “Vare” bottling to-date and while I can’t speak to that (since all of my previous experiences with Beta have been the Montecillo Vineyard in Sonoma), I can verify that it has Ketan’s signature all over it. I did not decant this bottle though, it probably would have benefited from it. Never the less, the bouquet was bursting with character: predominately black fruits, anise, eucalyptus, coniferous forest floor, Anaheim pepper…the overwhelming message of freshness and one of the most unique noses I’ve ever encountered from a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. On the palate, things were a little more subdued with black currants, tart black cherry and black bramble fruit with a little hint of baking spices. It seemed a touch green, to be completely honest. Bone dry and endowed with substantial structure; medium+ tannin, medium+ acid, all the while framed by a medium- body; a welter weight of a wine.

This seems right in-line with what I have come to expect from Ketan Mody’s approach and, while I don’t expect anyone to peg this as Bordeaux in a blind tasting, it certainly has some Old World sensibilities and reminds me of the way Cabernet Sauvignon was made in California 40+ years ago. And, after drinking a few 40 year old Napa Cabernet’s this past week plus the aforementioned balance of fruit/structure, I believe this has a long life ahead of it with a rather exciting upside. Drink with patience or cellar. FWIW, I don’t have any immediate plans to open my second bottle before 2025. — 3 years ago

Ned Gray Creed

9.0

Pregame. Congrats to Beta Wines on a successful first release this morning. — 6 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. — 7 years ago

Jeremy Autry

10

Brought this one home from South Africa on my honeymoon. It did not disappoint on my 10 year anniversary. — 8 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. — 10 years ago

maria t

9.1

casa do Antonio & Beta, na Foia — 11 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) — 3 years ago

Jake Rubash

9.4

This was a step up from the ‘11. These are really stellar wines — 6 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. — 6 years ago

Bassel Sommelier

8.9

Very crisp especially at ME lounge me Milan — 8 years ago

Morten Nass

9.1

2011 vintage — 9 years ago

Alli Wing

9.6

Easy to drink, fruity, fairly light, very nice wine — 10 years ago

rachel fishman

9.5

at the delectable beta testing — 12 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. — 4 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 — 6 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. — 7 years ago

Peidong Yang

9.0

Old vine Shiraz from Australia. — 9 years ago

rachel fishman

10

Amazing cab- Cali. Beta wine. — 11 years ago