Tech Notes
Wine Details
James Suckling
The Wine Cellar Insider
Wine Advocate
Jancis Robinson
| Unit Size | 750.00 ML |
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon
|
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Grape | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Country | United States |
| Appellation | Oakville
|
| Region | Napa Valley
|
| Alcohol Content | 15.50% |
By World's End
Good Times, Bad Times Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Oakville Napa 2020
Grapes
100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Good Times, Bad Times is a single-vineyard wine made from vines first planted by Hiram W. Crabb in the historic vineyard called To Kalon. It's situated in the Oakville appellation of the Napa Valley, next to the Mondavi winery and over the road from Opus One. The vineyard is owned and managed by Andy Beckstoffer, the best-known grower in the Napa Valley.
Viticulture
We insist that the cropping level is kept low, in accordance with the wines we make in Saint-Emilion. The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The vines are cropped at around 3 tons per acre, ensuring concentration. Two rounds of green harvesting ensure the hand-picked berries that finally end up in the vat are picked at optimum maturity. They are delivered to the winery before dawn in half-ton bins.
Vinification
Vinification is pretty similar to the wines we make in France. After running through two sets of sorting tables, first by bunch and then, after the de-stemmer, grape by grape, we're looking for a long cold soak before fermentation in temperature-controlled vats. The wines undergo malolactic fermentation in new French oak and are aged thereafter in an underground cellar at 16 degrees C.
Winemaker's Note
To Kalon speaks for itself as a vineyard that is perhaps the best known in the Napa Valley. Our take on the wine is conditioned by our French heritage. To Kalon, in its concentrated form, such as this wine, needs time. Barrel aging in new oak is not pushed through - we're looking at a minimum of a year and a half and sometimes two. No rush!
Tasting Notes
The 2020 has a deep purple robe. The nose expresses ripe raspberries, spicy vanilla, red cherries, toasted almonds, and licorice. The palate is full of ripe, crunchy, juicy fruit, built on multi-textured tannins, and shows great persistence.
[Information provided by World's End]
Wine: World’s End Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Oakville Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Good Times, Bad Times 2020
Score/Rating: 93
Review Date: 03/22/2023
Reviewed By: James Suckling
Tasting Notes: Tile and stone character to the redcurrant and bark aromas and flavors. It’s medium-bodied with juicy and savory fruit and a flavorful finish. Some tar and pine resin, too. Lightly bitter at the end. More reserved than past vintages. Give it two or three years to soften.
Wine: 2020 World's End Cabernet Sauvignon Good Times, Bad Times Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard (Oakville)
Score/Rating: 91
Suggested Drinking Window: 2023 - 2036
Review Date: 07/07/2023
Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied, fresh, reserved style of wine that opens with black raspberries, chocolate, flowers, and espresso. On the elegant side, the wine is fresh, not showy, with a classic edge to its blackberries, chocolate, and black cherry-filled mid-palate, and finish. Drink from 2023-2036.
Wine: 2020 World's End Good Times, Bad Times Cabernet Sauvignon
Score/Rating: 90
Suggested Drinking Window: 2023 - 2033
Review Date: 05/04/2023
Reviewed By: Joe Czerwinski
Tasting Notes: Hints of menthol appear on the nose of the 2020 Good Times, Bad Times Cabernet Sauvignon, giving an attractive lift to the dark fruit and loamy-earth aromas. It's full-bodied but more supple and streamlined than the Crossfire bottling, with greater harmony and length.
Wine: World's End, Good Times, Bad Times Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 Oakville
Score/Rating: 15.5/20
Suggested Drinking Window: 2023 - 2026
Review Date: 04/26/2023
Reviewed By: Jancis Robinson
Tasting Notes: Full bottle unnecessarily heavy 1,529 g. To Kalon vineyard cited on the front label, so the price seems rather good … Made by Jonathan Maltus. Yield just 3 ton/acre. Very sweet, almost oily. High alcohol though there is some freshness too. But it's a bit dead on the end.