Wine Advocate 96
"Another profound effort from Tor Kenward is the 2013 Chardonnay Torchiana Beresini Vineyard, from some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in Northern California (now 30+ years of age). This dry-farmed, three-acre vineyard has produced a prodigious Chardonnay with notes of poached pear, honeyed tropical fruits, caramelized citrus, marmalade and subtle, spicy, smoky wood in a full-bodied, stunningly rich, concentrated style.

Tor Kenward has put together an impressive portfolio of wines, slowing increasing the number of single-vineyard offerings. His stuff is exciting, which is not all that surprising, given his long-time experience working at Beringer as well as his rich wine-tasting experience over multiple decades.

The 2013 Chardonnays are absolutely brilliant. Almost all of them are made from heritage California clones such as Old Wente (known for its tiny berries and small yields). The 2014 Chardonnays had just been bottled, but they also showed well, given that they are slightly tighter and more reserved because of the recent transfer from wood to glass.

The Rock wines are the Rhône varietals in the Tor Kenward portfolio.

The 2013 Tor Cabernet Sauvignons are the best he has released to date. I thought he hit home runs with many of his 2012s, but he has exceeded those efforts with his 2013 grouping. 2014 continues the string of amazing vintages Napa had. Yields were lower than in 2012 and 2013, and the wines don’t seem to have quite the drama and flamboyance of 2012 or the profound depth, structure and upside of the 2013s, but they are still beautiful wines, and as I have said so many times in this report, their biggest sin is to have followed two very great vintages." Tel. (707) 963-3100; www.torwines.com