Beckstoffer To Kalon Red Wine
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2036
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Prime dry-aged ribeye steak, roasted rack of lamb with rosemary, slow-braised beef short ribs
✨ Technical Specifications
The Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville is arguably the most famous first-growth equivalent site in the Napa Valley. First planted in 1868 by viticultural pioneer Hamilton Walker Crabb, who named it 'To Kalon'—Greek for 'the highest beauty'—this historic terroir sits on a well-drained alluvial fan at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains. TOR Kenward's expression of this legendary site is a masterclass in Napa Valley power and elegance. Sourced from prized blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon planted to heritage clones, the wine benefits from the vineyard's gravelly loam soils, intense mid-day heat, and cooling afternoon breezes. Winemaker Jeff Ames employs a minimalist approach, utilizing indigenous yeast fermentations and aging in prime French oak barrels, bottling the wine unfined and unfiltered to preserve the opulent dark fruit, exquisite mineral tension, and seamless tannins that define this historic vineyard.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 2001 by Napa Valley veteran Tor Kenward and his wife Susan, TOR Wines is an artisanal producer located in St. Helena, California. Drawing upon Kenward's nearly three decades of executive experience alongside legendary growers and winemakers at Beringer Vineyards, the estate is dedicated to crafting small-production, vineyard-designated wines from premier sites throughout Napa Valley. TOR focuses primarily on historic grand cru-caliber terroirs, most notably Beckstoffer To Kalon, Beckstoffer Dr. Crane, and Cimarossa Vineyard. Employing a minimalist, site-expressive winemaking philosophy, the winery is internationally celebrated for its powerful, cellar-worthy Cabernet Sauvignons, refined Chardonnays, and rare, expressive Syrahs.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Cabernet Sauvignon