The team at Amici always seems to make the most of this valley floor site, and their 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard is riveting stuff. All varietal aged 18 months in new barrels, this saturated purple-hued beauty has a monster nose of ripe black and blue fruits, smoke tobacco, chocolate, and a Pessac-like scorched earth and smoky quality that I just adore. Full-bodied, rich, and powerful on the palate, it has beautiful tannins, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a layered, silky mouthfeel. This will drink brilliantly over the coming two decades.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon opens with sauteed herbs over a core of cassis and black plums, plus savory notes and olives. The full-bodied palate is rich and dense, with bright fruit and firm, grainy tannins, finishing long and vivacious.

So elegant and charged with good acidity and firm tannins, this wine is firm in the mouth and bright with red and black cherries that are pure and focused, leading to blueberries as it opens up. The structure will carry it for many years of further flavor evolution.

Another wine that caputres the essence of site, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard is a vibrant, mid-weight offering. Dark fruit, chocolate, leather, mocha, espresso and licorice take shape, buffered by tons of energy and freshness that keep things in check. This is impeccably done.

Amici’s 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard features brooding scents of mocha, roasted nuts and deep earthy notes. More savory than fruity but with enough cherries for balance, it’s medium to full-bodied, silky and fine. While it lacks the rich, hedonistic qualities of the Morisoli Vineyard bottling, it’s an elegant, complex effort that should drink well for a couple of decades.