Andrew Notarfrancesco

9.2

Kick ranch fruit. — 3 years ago

Clive McNish

9.3

Really nice Cabernet from the Behrens family. It needs at least an hour in the decanter and it is still smoothing out after three but this is smooth and complex without being overly fruity or sweet. Deep purple in the glass with a dark berry and mashed fresh cherry nose. Palate is clean with the perfect blend of fruit, spice and oak. A little dry on the finish but in a good way. There’s more years in this but it’s worth a taste now. — 4 years ago

Jody Scharf

9.5

So I was that guy who got buried in snow. 23" to be exact. But but yes I have a super duper deluxe major generator. However still sucks. Ok so have this wine. Behrens Cab. Delicious. Loved every mofoin drop. — 4 years ago

Liz Gresham

9.0

Drinking well. Decanted for a few hours ahead and had it with turkey. — 5 years ago

Andrew Notarfrancesco

9.4

Superior wine. Enjoyed it — 3 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

The last several years I’ve either opened a Royal City, Charles Smith Skull or Behrens Family Thanksgiving Cab (with the skeleton family on the label) on Halloween night. This is far and away the best showing for the Royal City I’ve ever had. 10 years in bottle seems to be the sweet spot for this wine. Blackberry compote, black olive tapenade, smoke, grainy tannins and a dash of herbaceous goodness. Not at all like Cayuse—there is no fox fur funk—rather it compares favorably to a higher end Northern Rhône but without the classy heft and long finish of a LaLa. Enjoyed it immensely. — 4 years ago

Robert Evans Jr

9.2

Decanted over 4 hours served at desert on Thanksgiving — 5 years ago

Bruce Evans

9.7

Gotta tell you. I was surprised on how much this bad boy had left after 13yrs. Always loved Behrens Hitchcock wines and bough this one...so glad o did. So big, so ripe almost amarone-like. I love this wine! — 4 years ago

Kaye McD

9.0

Great wine - not for me! Smooth and sweet without the syrup. Smells and tasted like Chinese date paste. Alcohol fumes in my mouth! — 4 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

My last bottle of 03 Alder Springs. I still have one bottle of the 02 Fortuna (better). Bottles from the earlier days of Behrens & Hitchcock. They’ve gone from B&H to Erna Schein to Behrens Family Winery. Back in the day when we first acquired these wines, we had to open them the night before, decent and put them back in the bottle overnight and re-decant the next evening in order to drink them as they were monsters with huge alcohol. 13 bottle years later, it’s more complex, rounder but still a big wine. While the alcohol has tamed some, it’s still hot...just not unbearably hot. This wine still has a ton of life in it. The nose still shows alcohol and is starting to take on a dark fruit liqueur/Port style. Blackberries, dark cherries, raisins, prunes, dates & blue fruits. Anise, black cherry licorice, a little eucalyptus/mint, dark chocolate, black tea, layers of baking spices, dark, sweet, rich, turned earth and fresh, dry crushed rocks and decayed dark florals. The body is full, round, lavish and lush. The palate also shows a dark fruit liqueur/Port character. Ripe, blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, stewed plums, raisins, prunes, dates, blue fruits, anise, black cherry licorice, a little eucalyptus/mint, dry sage, medium, dark intensity spice that heats up as it rises off the palate, dark chocolate, black tea, layers of baking spices, chocolate pudding, well used leather, cedar, dark, sweet, rich, turned earth and fresh, dry crushed rocks, decayed dark florals and fading violets. The acidity is nicely rounded, the length, tension, structure may outlive some people 55+. The finish is; big, round, well balanced but just a little hot. After a couple hours in the decanter, it really rounded out and the alcohol decreased quite a bit. Photos top to bottom and left to right; the latest incarnation of the winery, workers in the Alder Springs Vineyard, Owner/Winemaker Les Behrens and their tasting room; which is actually a restored 1947 Westcraft trailer. A quote on Les’s philosophy on winemaking, “We let the vineyards steal the show and the wine speak for itself.” They are also well know for some of the coolest wine labels. One of my favorites was, “The Heavyweight.” — 5 years ago