TOR Kenward Family Wines- Current, New and Soon to be bottled

 I have accepted a new position with TOR wines, so got a deep dive into the wines.

After 27 years at Beringer, responsible for pioneering the food and wine experience in the Napa Valley with Julia Child and Gary Danko and mentored by Andre Tchelistcheff and Myron Nightingale, Tor Kenward launched his own family brand in 2001. Tor has a close longstanding relationship with superstar grower Andy Beckstoffer and TOR winemaker Jeff Ames, a student of Thomas Rivers Brown at Turley, Schrader, Maybach and Outpost.

I enjoyed pouring the small allocations of these wines we had to work with in 2015 at Maisonry and am so excited to be able to work with them again, right from the source!

These were open a while from a critic tasting that had occurred prior and I got to them around 3 PM, April 28. See further down for more recent notes on 23s. 

    2022 "Cuvee Torchiana" Chardonnay- Beresini Vineyard, Carneros

Aromas of apple, pear, peach and tangerine with a touch of oak. On the palate, ripe, forward fruit- peaches and cream. Some underyling hazelnut. It's a richer, creamier style but remains in balance.

    2022 "Cuvee Susan" Chardonnay- Hyde Vineyard, Carneros

A more subdued nose with lots of minerality. A higher acid, more focused and precise expression loaded with citrus, mandarin, orange blossom and nectarine with good verve.

    2023 "Cuvee Susan" Chardonnay- Hyde Vineyard, Carneros

Nose of chrysanthemum tea, lemon peel, fresh cream and a touch of toasty vanilla. On the palate, it had bright acidity over ripe fruit. Nice energy on this wine, which is very floral. Just underripe apricot, white peach, Cara Cara orange and lemon zest. 

    2023 "Cuvee Torchiana" Chardonnay- Beresini Vineyard, Carneros

A nose of fresh cream, butter, nectarine and orange and almost a fresh cut summer squash note, with hints of toasted pineapple. It is rich, but balanced with ripe orange, nectarine, pineapple with a touch of lemon and pea tendril. 

    2021 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

Nose of dried rose petals, brick, cedar, red and black currant, black cherry and a touch of bay leaf. The entry is warm berry tart, loaded with red and black berry fruit with nice baking spice. It has warmth and lift from the acidity, not alcohol. Finishes on sweet vanilla. 

    2022 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

A fresher, slightly stemmy nose of brioche dough, red and black berry. It's lively and vibrant on the palate with loads of red and black fruit with a touch of star anise on the finish.

    2022 Vaca Ridge (Upper Range Vineyard) Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa

Igneous, volcanic rock on the nose with red-leaning fruit; currant, pomegranate, cherry. It's got a grippy entry, but a velvety texture over all. The palate is a touch darker than the nose indicates, but is still more high-toned fruit. Blackberry, currant and black cherry. It's an "edgy" expression.

    2022 Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville

Dusty accent over higher toned red and black fruit. Warm spice. On the palate, it's luscious and generous. Loads of plum, cherry, currant and blackberry that just keeps giving and going. Really an outstanding wine. 

    2022 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville

Nose of clay and brick minerality with red-leaning fruit. Lots of red and black cherry, plum and a touch of herbaceousness. High-toned palate dominated by red fruits. It has flavors of plum, cherry and currant and is nicely focused. It's an elegant wine, which was the leanest in profile of the Cabernets at this tasting. Good texture and structure with a Bordeaux suggestion in its form.

    2023 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon (barrel sample)

Lifted, red-fruited nose. Flavors of warm berry compote and pastry crust. It has layers of red and black fruit but leans into the more tart red fruits a bit more. 

    2023 Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon (barrel sample)

The nose begins on sandalwood that moves into a blue and black fruit base, lifted by brighter red tones. On the palate, it has verve and vibrancy with an elegant structure. It has power, but with a satiny texture and pretty fruit. 

2023 Pre-Bottling samples-

    Beckstoffer Dr Crane- 

Mineral driven nose of iron and graphite, wet stone. Some cedar accents. Red and black berries, plum. Palate- Reminiscent of St. Estephe in it’s profile. Florals over minerality. Nice structure and texture with some blueberry hints over red and black plum and berry fruit. Notes of bay, black tea and a savory quality.

    Vine Hill Ranch- 

Pine and garrigue with almost a hint of mint over higher toned, more red fruit- currant, cherry, Luxardo/kirsch. Palate warm and welcoming. Nice baking spice with loads of red and black cherry, currant, boysenberry, and red plum skin with elegant structure, polished fine tannin. Pretty.

    Beckstoffer To Kalon- 

Very expressive and fragrant! Loads of fresh florals and ripe berry compote. Beautiful black plum and blackberry and cassis lifted by bright red tones of cherry and currant. Slight vanilla and almost hints of cardamom among the baking spices. Voluptuous and vibrant while remaining within balance. Loads of ripe red and black fruit over a sexy, elegant frame that is goldilocks between pretty and power. Long lingering and really outstanding.

    Beckstoffer To Kalon "BFD"-

Darker profile, more blue and black focused. Oak and cedar dust entry followed by black plum, cassis, a tinge of black licorice and wet slate. Palate follows with brooding black fruits, plum, cassis, marionberry and some underbrush suggestions with a savory sage suggestion. More powerful then To Kalon Cab in feel and structure.

    Pure Magic- 

Dusty spice leads the nose, followed by spiced plum, candy apple skin, boysenberry and cassis. Nice grip on entry. Fine grained tannin over a powerful, somewhat earthy frame of dark blue, purple and black fruits. Suggestions underlying of cola, garrigue, toasted vanilla and graham cracker crust.

    Black Magic- 

Touch more closed nose at the moment. Blackberry and currant leaf, with cassis and underbrush notes with suggestion of turned damp soil. Big and dark on the palate. Black fruited with some lift on the midpalate from a streak of warm spice. Earthy frame with notes of espresso, bitter chocolate shavings, graphite and dried herb with hints of mushroom.

Waldele Family Wines Flight

 With Waldele Family being my Oenovangelist featured winery offer for May, I asked Hannes to taste through the wines and he generously poured me the lineup we focused on and then some. He is a talented winemaker and I cannot recommend his personal wines enough. They are well worth a try, then acquiring to give some age to more.

2023 Alexander Valley Sauvignon Blanc- 

A fresh and vibrant style with aromas of lemon, lime zest, passionfruit and a bit of underripe pineapple. On the palate, the flavors follow the aromas with added hints of gooseberry. It has nice acidity, keeping it crisp and refreshing with nice texture from aging in neutral oak puncheons. 

2022 Ricci Vineyard, Los Carneros Chardonnay- 

A kernel aroma first greets the nose, along with rich notes of toasted brioche and vanilla bean as well as hazelnut. It has a lovely texture making it seem on the richer side, but it's balanced by good acidity. The flavors are immediately warm apple tart, along with supporting flavors of pear, lemon curd and pie crust accents. It's a luscious wine without being overly heavy or cloying and according to the winemaker, received no ML treatment. 

2021 Carneros, Sonoma Pinot Noir

Planted to clone 828 planted in 1992. This wine received 33% new French oak. Aromas of red cherry, currant, strawberry and cranberry along with a dark earthy note of perhaps black tea and forest. It has bright acid which balanced its more brooding fruit character of red plum, cranberry, currant, pomegranate and cherry. It's fresh and crisp with a touch of oak spice on the finish. It sits nicely between a European expression and California.

2023 Roberts Road, Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir

20% whole cluster inclusion with the added work of browning the stems and reintroducing them into the juice. It has a very expressive nose oh high toned red fruit and meadow flowers. It's juicy and vivacious on the palate with loads of fruit, including cherry, pomegranate, strawberry and candied apple. It's a really gorgeous wine, dare I say sexy. Luscious and round, it's a plush expression of what makes balanced CA Pinot so beautiful. 

2022 Murray Ranch, Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

Nose of red and black fruits with hints of fresh boysenberry. On the palate, it's dominated by red fruits- currant, plum and black cherry. It has polished tannin and really nice texture. The finish is persistent and very nice.

Solera Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

A fun bonus we got to try! Made from 3 vintages of dramatic sites in Napa- Howell Mtn., Oakville and Coombsville. It has a floral perfume over dark berry fruit. The palate is refined and loaded with an array of red and black fruits. I confess we were deep into discussion, so I didn't take as many notes here. But this is a very well made wine that will please the Napa Cab lover, staying in the sweet spot between beauty and beast. Highly recommend it if the price point of $175 fits. 

2023 Caldwell Vineyard, Coombsville Chardonnay

We ended the tasting with this, so in context of having just had Cabernet- It has loads of minerality and almost petrichor to it. It has "crunchier" fruit leaning on its green edge, but doesn't come across as under ripe. It has verve and tension and layers of flavor with bright acidity throughout.