“Drinking this,” he says, “is akin to drinking a wine with another wine jammed into the same space so that it tastes richer than it possibly can be.” Indeed. According to Kenward, though, a wine like Black Magic is made only from barrels that capture his attention and that of winemaker Jeff Ames in the cellar.

This wine brand, founded 20 years ago by Tor Kenward, a much-respected former vice president at Beringer, has made a reputation on showstopping Bordeaux reds. And the dark-plum and blueberry flavours fill the mouth, layered with dark cacao, and persist endlessly, lending finesse to a magnificent structure. Beautiful high-toned aromas of florals, forest, graphite, tobacco, exotic spices (star anise) and black and blue fruit give nuance to the wine’s power. James particularly enjoyed the Tor Napa Valley Pure Magic Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard 2018, which is. The blend of uniquely co-fermented Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot with a little Cabernet Franc in this Tor 2018 Black Magic (made only in great years) is dense and dark. '2018 is about as good as it gets,' Tor said. But when four award the same wine 100 points (something that, to our knowledge, has never happened – until now), that approaches objective perfection. When a top critic gives a wine 100 points, most would agree that it’s a subjective opinion of perfection. Here, we have the Tor 2018 Black Magic win ‘best 100-pointer’ in the wine and spirits category

In this year’s Best of the Best, we continue to honour the brands and people who have continued to create covetable products, even in the midst of a global pandemic.

Black magic tor wine