3/18/2024 - YankeeRobio Likes this wine:

Absolutely stunning wine with a one hour decant. 47% Mourvèdre, 35% Syrah, and 18% Grenache, all putting forth their best characteristics. Seductive entry, velvety tannins, great plush mouthfeel. Dense muddled Marionberry, smokey blueberry, faint sweetened strawberry, anise and slight charcoal. Building depth with time in the glass, this is a polished, classy and hedonistic offering by Scott Hawley. Bravo.

10/12/2023 - Crunge Likes this wine:

First glass was from a PnP at cellar temp. Lacked the typical Pegau funk. Still very drinkable with dark cherries and a large helping of wet stone.

As it warmed up it gained body. Fuller-bodied and richer than typical Pegau, it is well-integrated already. Tannins came through at warmer temps, and more white pepper than fruit. While it never gained the Pegau funk, it is an earthy, unabashedly old world wine.

I'll let the rest of my bottles age longer.

8/19/2023 - Crunge Likes this wine:

Nose of pear, melon, and a hint of cat urine. Flavors of pear and an undercurrent of slate with a sharp acidic backbone. Not buttery as some Chardonnays can be, but crisp and refreshing.

7/21/2023 - Crunge Does not like this wine:

Grenache is my favorite varietal and I've been anticipating this, my first Clos Erasmus.

PnP at cellar temp and it was borderline undrinkable. Strong wood varnish aromas and flavors. Beyond that was tartness and not much else.

After an hour in a decanter, the wood varnish had faded somewhat and there was a touch of cherry trying to come through, although the acid and tartness beat any fruit flavors into submission.

Two hours in and there was still that touch of varnish and almost no fruit. No score as this is clearly not my style. A truly disappointing experience.

5/21/2023 - Crunge Likes this wine:

Young, but delicious now and has plenty of upside. Full-flavored with dark fruits and slate. There's a hint of bitterness in a good way (like dark chocolate), and a touch of oak. Tannins are noticable but not distracting.

PnP at cellar temp but consumed over a couple of hours so it warmed up to room temp. I'd decant this for a couple of hours or just give it more time in the cellar. 93+ now, I see this hitting 95 or even higher with more time.

I've had every vintage of Akasha since the 2010 and even with the changes in vineyards of the sourced grapes since then, this vintage continues the tradition of delicious Akashas.

6/29/2023 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

Pretty much covered by Crunge below. Opened by our host the DQ, who decanted this bottle for 9 hours. Very floral nose, dark berry fruit, very-very smooth given all the airtime it had. A very enjoyable Syrah for me because it was not overly heavy or gamey. Just the right amount of every component for me! Thanks for opening, DQ!

6/20/2023 - brianofthevine Likes this wine:

Still a big wine after 11 years. Ripe black cherry, blackberry, and blueberry fruit up front. Savory notes of cracked pepper, meat, violets, and forest floor. Smooth tannins, long finish...good now but no rush.

6/2/2023 - Crunge wrote:

Seeking opinions here. I'm a big fan of the regular Booker wines; Ripper, Fracture, Oublie, and Vertigo are all excellent young and they also age well.

I do not enjoy the 22's as much. I even contacted Booker and asked if I should let them age for years but they said no, they were ready to go sooner than the regular wines.

For this bottle, the oak is in check (usually it's pretty heavy in the 22's) but this hits me as fairly sour, the finish is a bit off, and overall it's not the lush fruit I enjoy with the regular Booker wines.

I'd appreciate the opinions of others on the regular Bookers vs the 22's.

5/24/2023 - Crunge Likes this wine:

Relic wines are not for the timid. I enjoy the style, frequently pairing the Petite Sirah with curry dishes.

For this cab, there's muscle and brute force in this bottle. It smells great with blackberries and a hint of chocolate. Dark fruits and spice (think Syrah) blend on the palate perfectly. The tannins are surprisingly smooth in a wine that likes to start by slapping you to make you pay attention.

It borders on being syrupy; for my wife and me it doesn't go over, but I can understand if it does for some. We thoroughly enjoyed this and I admire what Hirby does with the various wines at Relic.

4/11/2023 - AGELVIS Likes this wine:

One hour decant. Deep dark lush magenta color. Plum, prailine, sage, licorice, mushroom, and subtle milk chocolate and minerality. Smooth, tongue drying palate. Firm, lower intensity tannins on the longish finish.

Absolutely a Bordeaux-leaning Napa, which is not my style, but this is very well made. Would have been even better with a 3+ hour decant. Went perfectly with my duck at Torc in Napa.

3/17/2023 - jeagle wrote:

Decanted 3 hours before consumption. Let me just join the chorus of reviewers who have found this bottle well short of expectations. What it presented was of medium body from front to back. What it lacked was texture and complexity. But it was a well-made. ho hum, however, costly effort.

2/24/2023 - DougSamuel Likes this wine:

Brand new blend from Relic that just arrived last week. Still very young but wanted to check in on it. We are suckers for red blends and adore Ritual from Relic. It's has deep fruit, which is expected from Frediani vineyards in Calistoga. Primarily some dark fruit and pomegranate. Also some minty/menthol and savory on top of a dark chocolate.

I am not certain the blend, but guessing Carignane and Petite Sirah. Historically they have done those separately from this vineyard. Enjoyable now but will smooth out in 6-12 months. The biggest question mark I have on this blend is the price point. You're paying for primo real estate and old, old vines, so it makes sense. The wine itself may not warrant the fare, but I also am happy to support these old vines and grapes other than Cab in napa!

9/1/2022 - Crunge wrote:

Changed quite a bit during the evening.

On a pnp at cellar temp, it was slightly bitter. Over time this evolved with dark fruits, a little earth, and the finish had noticeable, but in balance, oak. During this period, it was delicious. A couple of hours later, the wine had softened too much and there was tea in the background.

I liked this but felt it fell apart quickly and I would not decant a long time; thirty minutes would be fine, and then consume over the next hour.

7/23/2022 - cubswinws wrote:

Just not sure about this monolithic beast of a wine.

4/20/2022 - Pedroel Does not like this wine:

There is something seriously off, here. Two bottles, back-to-back are exactly the same...and taste like a Brunello with Brett. This isn't corked, rather something else. Dare I say, could this be a fraud? I won't slander the good stuff with a score that reflects my experience.

4/2/2022 - Dough Boy Does not like this wine:

I’ve tasted this wine several times and was hoping it might improve - but it hasn’t. It has declined. Way overrated. Disappointing. Harsh. I agree w fellow CT, Asparagus!

And Suckling’s review of this wine blows my mind. It’s one thing to rate wines 3-4 points higher than other reviewers, but this wine doesn’t even scratch the 90 threshold. Not close.

Suckling literally loses his mind over this dud, “Absolutely stunning aromas of nectarine, orange peel, sweet black cherry, plum, flower, licorice and mushroom. Full body with layers of ultra-fine tannins and hints of tangy acidity. Such beautiful length and beauty to this wine. It's powerful and structured but shows a gorgeous finesse and length. Truly wondrous. So long and refined. The texture is phenomenal. 99 points”

It’s as if he didn’t taste THIS wine. I’ve come to ignore JS’s reviews. Now I do so with contempt.

2/22/2022 - YankeeRobio Likes this wine:

Spectacular wine. Great blue and black fruit, licorice, and slight white pepper. So smooth.

2/12/2022 - Crunge Does not like this wine:

I have determined that my tastes simply do not align with Bevan. Having never had any Bevan before, I bought the 2016 Ontogeny and this wine. I thought the Ontogeny tasted like a wine that used massive quantities of oak to cover up bad fruit, a la 19 Crimes or Caymus (yes, I said it.)

Tonight I opened this inky black monster. I took a sip at open and it was quite astringent, but I was planning on a long decant so no worries. I decanted for four hours and it was consumed over the following 90 minutes.

So let's see... It's impenetrable to light. It is completely flabby with no tannic structure at all. And the dominant flavor? Wet cardboard. First glass was alone, second small glass was with a ribeye. Gave up after that.

I appreciate that many of you enjoy this wine, including tasters I respect and with whom my tastes normally align. I, however, find nothing appealing about this wine and wonder what Bevan does that so offends my palate.

(For the record, when I reviewed the Ontogeny, someone asked if I'd had any decent Napa cabs for comparison. Yes.)

1/31/2022 - cubswinws wrote:

Nice blend but lacks the depth to make it more interesting. I'm not sure what it is but I generally find cabernet + rhone blends just don't seem to blend well together.

1/19/2022 - DawgByte wrote:

I opened the wine and poured it in a decanter. I tested the nose and came up empty, so I poured some into a glass to see if anything happened. Nothing, so I sampled it on the palate, same experience. It was like the wine was in a coma. Two and a half hours later I detected hints of red fruit and smoked meats, but I really had to swirl the glass to coax any appreciable aromas. This wine never really opened up. I'm 99% sure it was not a corked bottle and was properly stored in a temperature controlled cellar. It's a shame, because I expected to sample a 92+ point wine.

12/27/2021 - Crunge Likes this wine:

PnP and consumed over a couple of hours. Already well integrated and delicious. Dark fruits with a hint of cocoa and silky tannins. WOTN for all four of us.

11/22/2021 - Crunge Likes this wine:

Full-bodied with blood/iron, black fruits, and a bit of slate. No pepper, which I often get with PS and Syrah.

Smoother than many PS, well integrated, and past the rough stage. Excellent depth and paired perfectly with lamb on the grill. I see no signs of this fading.

10/14/2021 - morewineplease! Likes this wine:

Agree with Crunge. All cherries. Found it to be lighter than other Maven years; enjoyable, but not quite the heft of past vintages.

9/19/2021 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

Totally blown away by this bottle. Random cellar pull on a Sunday evening and I'm still thinking about this wine. I'm wishing I had more than one more left in the cellar. ugh!

Beautifully expressive nose with cool lifted blues on the palate. Long silky finish with some great structure to keep going. Time in the bottle has added the perfect amount of weight to this wine.

Damn this was good.

9/7/2021 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine:

This is drinking beautifully young and alas, was my only bottle. Juicy ripe mixed fruit on the palate with silky body and fine tannins. I'm rarely disappointed by the regular Booker bottlings but the extended-age cuvees aren't as pleasing; perhaps they need a lot of cellar time that I haven't given them.

8/18/2021 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

I can see why there are such different opinions on this wine. If you don't treat it right you won't get its best. Obtained just a few days ago on a trip to Austin and flown back in my wine luggage, so some would argue against drinking it right away.....but not me.

1st hour......not very good, tight....restrained on the nose and palate.
2nd hour.....things begin to ease, all over.
3rd hour......fruit emerges, texture smoothes out, wine deepens and power begins to emerge. Dark raspberry/blackberry fruit, great florals on the nose.
4th hour.....the wine peeks. It is balanced, dense, sweet, deep, soft and smooth and swings way above its price point.
5th hour.....still doing well.
6th hour.....things begin to weaken slightly, starts falling apart slightly.

This is NOT Caymus. I HATE Caymus....this is not 'cherry cough syrup', as Caymus often is. This is actually a very good wine, but you must catch it properly to get its best. Every bit a 95 in hours 3-4.

8/7/2021 - Neecies wrote:

Here's what I thought of the previous bottle we opened exactly one year ago: "Hypnotic blackberry and graphite nose with concentrated bing cherry and cola spice on the palate. Cashmere texture with backbone, superb length." This year? Opened on a Monday: extracted, sweet, sappy, little to no acidity; put it aside. Retasted several times over next four days, only minor improvements. Finally gave in and drank it on Friday: opaque purple-black, heavy, too sweet, Caymus-like. I have purchased my last Bevan.

6/18/2021 - norsktorsk wrote:

this is ready

6/10/2021 - RhoneWho wrote:

Wow! Can’t believe this is a 100% Grenache wine. Exceeded my expectation what a Grenache can deliver without help from darker varietals (syrah or mourvedre)! Jeb D. is on the money.

In general, 2016 vintage is magical for CDP wines as well as for Alban wines (more notes will be posted) as their tannins are super-fine, rich ripe fruit flavor and sweet floral tone on the nose. The closest Grenache from CA to Janasse Chaupin (or its Vieilles Vignes as it has 10% syrah) is Alban Grenache Estate which has 20% syrah blended. Hence, this speaks loudly for Janasse Chaupin and how did they get blue fruit tone into the wine? 100 years old vines on sandy soil?

2016 Janasse Cuvee Chaupin is absolutely enjoyable, elegant and harmoniously balanced with beautiful dark color juice (ahem wine)!


Bouquet: Fairly aromatics with sweet/candy, ripe rich red and blue fruits intermixed aroma with hints of Asian spice and bouquet garni.


Palate: Weightless yet full bodied ripe red (cherry) and dark/blue (blackberry) fruits flavor intermixed with subtle cocoa/leather and herbs.

Texture: Seamless super-fine tannins with good acidity masked under juicy rich fruit flavor; yet it is velvety.

My recent project is to experience 100% Grenache wines from the 2016 vintage but there ain’t many out there to get hold of. The project involves Pierre Usseglio Mon Aieul, Alban Pandora (I think Alban is the only major super-star out there making 100% Grenache in CA) and Horsepower Sur Enchalas (but stylistically so distinctly different from all others) – will post my notes over time.

This wine may gain more concentration and the nose become more aromatics with more time in the cellar and may hit 99+. Factoring QPR and blue fruit tone in 100% grenache, this is a solid 97+!

Keywords: Balance, Rich, Delicious, QPR

Scoring range: 97-99

3/16/2021 - alber_tones Likes this wine:

My first of 16 bottles and believe it for not, my first CDP. This was an unforgiving tannic monster upon opening and a good 8 hour slow ox really did it some good. I have nothing to really compare this against but I did almost forget and think I was drinking an opulent $100+ Napa cab at one point. The high tannins along with the strong acidic backbone likely entails a long life ahead. I’ll give the next bottle another year or two and now I really can’t wait to open one of the 2016 Reserves.

2/19/2021 - YankeeRobio Likes this wine:

Blueberry, fennel, crushed stone, sweet anise, white pepper. Very nice wine.

2/15/2021 - shadow wrote:

What to drink with a very rare gourmet cheese burger, sides of fries and bacon.
Its not for you, but was a hit with the Varsity club.
Enjoyed with a set of average 100 pointers, this girl stood out.
It wasn't the leather under garments or the smoky nose that grabbed me, it was the long long long wet kiss.
Chasing CDP down to its well spring.
Balanced like perfect SQN, rich and decadent like a smoky strip club before they were sanitized.
That perfect feeling, easy 100 pts

12/23/2020 - Crunge Likes this wine:

The flavors are excellent but muted compared to the previous bottle, costing this a couple of points. Red fruit and a bit of cola and oak, with prominent tannins. No spice or earth in this particular bottle.

2/5/2021 - Crunge Likes this wine:

Two hours in the decanter and it didn't last more than an hour once we started drinking. Red and black fruits and just enough minerality to support the fruit. Smooth tannins and just a pleasure to drink. Paired with charcuterie but would be perfect by itself. I appreciate Dunn bucking the trend and keeping the alcohol in check so the fruit can shine.

2/8/2021 - Dave and Mo Cellar Likes this wine:

Ok, WOW!. Not many times recently I have been surprised by a wine...in a good way. Huge Paso fan, but I have never tried Booker wines. Opened this tonight and was blown away. Haven't drank many Grenache wines before, but this one was amazing. This wine starts out like a Turley Zin, huge fruit and big flavor. Instead of continuing on the fruitbomb path, it takes a right turn and finishes completely dry. Love this wine. Glad I have five more. Joining their club to try more of their offerings!

2/7/2021 - cubswinws wrote:

Muted and seemingly closed. Never really opened up even after several hours. Will wait awhile on the next one.

12/31/2020 - Crunge wrote:

As bad as 2020 was, I wanted to send it out the door while drinking a good bottle, and this didn't disappoint. Decanted for 2.5 hours and consumed over 90 minutes, every sip was delicious. Blackberry, cocoa, and a touch of tea with silky tannins. The tea was a bit more prominent at the end, but no complaints. This is fantastic and my wife said we need to buy more.

12/22/2020 - Crunge wrote:

Seeking help here. As I experienced with my previous bottle, and Cab_Fran, Cbuhlman, and Swapdoc reported, this was another lightweight. It was better than my previous bottle but still easily the weakest vintage of Pegau I've had. It just tastes completely watered down, like taking the weak 2011 vintage and diluting it with water.

So... What can cause this? Someone told me heat damage, but that usually leads to stewed flavors and this has so little flavor I would actually welcome stewed fruits. All advice is appreciated.

11/16/2020 - cbuhlman wrote:

much better than the first bottle we had a year ago.
a little sweaty saddle on the first sips but thankfully receded to allow sweet cherry garrigue tinged fruit to shine. a little savory as well and quite delicious with a moderately long spicy berry ester finish.
90-91

12/1/2020 - randyjc wrote:

I was in the presence of greatness with this wine. With a friend we drank this and the 2010 Janasse Chaupin side by side and spent over an hour with them. Fabulous. This wine is particularly spectacular and has many years ahead. I wrote in my notes that the wine “does not have an expiration date in my lifetime.” The nose is sweet flowers, spice and black currant. On the front end it is smooth black fruit, a blackberry compote sort of thing. There is a remarkable lushness and depth to the black fruit, earth and charcoal. On the finish, the wine is dark, dark, dark - chocolate, Turkish coffee, tar and charcoal. The tannins are long and chalky. Truly an exceptional wine.

11/27/2020 - jaumealaska Likes this wine:

PnP and drunk over 2 days. Purple with some lightening at the rim but fully extracted by appearance. Expressive nose of blueberries, some plum and touch of licorice and tobacco. Purity of fruit is impressive with balanced round tannins and acidity. Long finish. Nose slightly more expressive and savory notes more noticeable on day 2

11/21/2020 - Lemari Does not like this wine:

Little to no nose. Few if any notable flavors. And a finish that disappears faster than a thief in the night. First prize for what may be the most nondescript juice I've tasted of late. You can do better, far better. Avoid this one.

4/24/2020 - Crunge Likes this wine:

I was surprised to see 49 bottles consumed and not a single note. After having this, I think I understand why.

The wine was consumed over two days, and I will start by saying that both my wife and I thought it was good, but certainly not great. Neither my wife nor I could identify a single fruit flavor. She described it as "dark... something." I kept trying to find blackberries, plum, cherries, currants, anything, but never could identify a single fruit. My overwhelming flavors were cola with a background of tea. Oak was more noticeable on day two, but still rather restrained.

I will let my other bottle age for several years. I hope this is just in a dumb phase. It's one of the most confusing wines I've ever had. When we finished it on day 2, we followed it up with a 2012 Dunn Howell Mountain, which was better than this wine in every respect.

8/22/2020 - Wine Fool Likes this wine:

In an earlier review I called this wine “the precocious little brother (or sister) of the mammoth 2016,” and that description really holds up quite well. Yes, that is how good it is. It possesses crazy amounts of ripeness, freshness, power and grip, and everything is deftly layered and balanced to produce a wine masterpiece. When directly compared with the 2016, the 2015 seems slightly smaller scaled yet equally compelling and delicious. I hasten to add that it is drinking beautifully at the moment and I anticipate at least a decade of positive development ahead. And lastly, I cannot believe it can still be had for a bargain price. 98 solid points.

8/14/2020 - Crunge wrote:

No rating on this bottle because the wine isn't ready for a pop and pour. Closed and disjointed. What flavors were present were heavy towards earth, herbs, and spice over fruit, but this wine needs a decent decant if opening now. Hold.

1/15/2020 - cbuhlman wrote:

SWAPDOC absolutely nailed the review of this wine. with all credit going to him...
" disappointing wine. Could not find traditional southern Rhone characteristics in this wine -- tasted none of the hot earth, olives, raspberry, lavender. More of a slick, generic, polished Italian merlot. The fruit tasted under-ripe, thin, and covered up by slightly astringent wood tannins. Didn't feel like more years of cellaring would magically endow this wine with what is lacking now"-- a sense of place.

This is by far the worst Pegau I've had..and this based on 2 different bottles. Not sure what they're doing over at Pegau, but this is nothing like
2001, 2007 or 2009

87-88

7/10/2020 - Roger Patterson wrote:

Big and balanced with dried meat, pepper and acid to balance. At tasting room with Toni.

5/5/2020 - wineotim Likes this wine:

Met my usual Dunn expectations, good structure and firmness, long finish, very dry. Not much on complexity yet, but delicious nonetheless. Not up to par with the 2010 though.

4/24/2020 - Tyler C Likes this wine:

Just keeps getting better. I have such a man crush on Torrin right now. The accessible Saxum IMHO.

4/6/2020 - Crunge wrote:

Not yet ready, and I'm concerned about where it might be headed. While it smelled like a Pegau, it was thin, light, and unimpressive. Very little fruit and nothing distinctive. Pales next to the 2003, 2007, 2009, and 2010. I hope it picks up weight with age.