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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 94.9 pts. and median of 95 pts. in 51 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by lvjohn on 11/11/2023 & rated 96 points: A superlative wine from a superlative winery and wine making staff. Drank over two days separated by about 24 hours. Decanted and filter to remove the fine but plentiful lees. Very dark in the decanter and the glass. The wine tasted of incredible red and dark red fruit with a bit of spice in the background which seems typical of a Russ Bevan wine. This spicy element mellowed with time to reveal a rich and structured wine. The second day brought more of the same. Both days were wonderful. This wine is drinking nicely now and is likely to seem fresh for at least 5 or more years. (774 views) | | | Tasted by mdvillaverde on 9/27/2023 & rated 95 points: Agree with Geaux Tigers. (721 views) | | | Tasted by Geaux Tigers on 8/9/2023 & rated 97 points: On open it took 45 min for significant VA notes to blow off — was worried for a while. After that point, though, Wow! Black fruited beauty, black cherry, plum, dried blackberry, nutmeg, cardamom, spice, white pepper, black olive. Harmonious with tannins and oak integrated. 97 is the verdict, that number may be conservative, loved this wine! (1073 views) | | | Tasted by Red Sox Fan on 1/29/2023 & rated 95 points: We opened a 2013 Bevan EE and a 2013 Schrader RBS. Both were very good after a 60 minute decant. The Bevan was a little bigger, bolder and darker; the Schrader a little smoother and lighter with fruit more to the reddish end of the spectrum. I expect both of these wines will improve over the next few years. (1435 views) | | | Tasted by Geaux Tigers on 6/29/2022 & rated 97 points: A Week in Cabo; 6/28/2022-7/7/2022 (Cabo San Lucas): Slow ox in bottle. First glass at 3 hr, rest of bottle at 4 hr with dinner. Bevan never fails to deliver on fruit/flower days!
At 3 hr this was really good. Inky in the glass, silky over the palate, blue and black fruited, plum, spice, black cherry, black raspberry, some burnt embers but the cab franc is out and about with some mineral streaks and black olive appearing.
At dinner, the waiter impatiently over poured our first glasses leaving a ton of sediment in both glasses. Careful drinking in that first glass yielded similar notes as above, but the earthiness from the cab franc receded and some chalky tannins appeared. With new glasses, another hour and food, it only got better with the tannins providing complimentary structure to blossoming fruit. In addition, a lovely and complimentary cola note appeared, but some oak also—Jack and Coke like. Terrible analogy, it was not bad but that’s what came to mind.
97 today. These are ready to roll and in the zone if you like fruit—time to start rolling through mine. If possible decant, this bottle was full of ‘dirt’ but a full decant for sediment was not in the cards for multiple reasons. (2317 views) | | | Tasted by Shep LA on 3/12/2022: . (1774 views) | | | Tasted by JAZZ4U on 1/22/2022 & rated 99 points: Parker 99 Pts. 50% Cab Franc 50% Merlot. Showket and Sugarloaf Vineyards. Beautiful deep cassis and fruit forward wine. (1676 views) | | | Tasted by JAZZ4U on 1/22/2022 & rated 97 points: Parker 97 Pts. 65% CS 35% CF. Tin Box and Tench Vineyards. (1795 views) | | | Tasted by Geaux Tigers on 12/23/2021 & rated 98 points: It’s a fruit day so I decided to pop a 2013 EE and what a great selection! Took a glass on PnP with the rest into the decanter though the decant was seemingly unnecessary. Surprising for a 2013. What an effort!
No tannins holding this back, but a touch of sweetness remains from the oak. Dark and viscous and an inky glycerin feel that glided effortlessly over the palate.
Smoke, burnt embers, dried flowers, hint of perfume, candied red fruit, crushed fresh black / berry fruit on the nose. Smells like Tench!
This is integrated almost completely on the palate. Red cherry, black cherry, red raspberry, black raspberry, and blackberry, a touch of earth and a nice mineral streak on a medium to long finish— I can’t wait to see what air does to this —though I may have a problem keeping my hands off of it. Year in and year out this wine has a personality of its own and impresses vintage in and vintage out. For Russell Bevan gem, this is by no means restrained, but I would put it on the lower end of the octane scale! Surprising indeed for a 2013!
98 on open. RP nailed this one! Time to open my last 2012 soon!
PS-at one hour in the decanter, this lost the sweet oak note and integrated even more, but lost a bit of the energy and verve on open. Cola and blood orange notes appeared and this actually became more juicy and less inky. Different indeed, but no change in score. (1920 views) | | | Tasted by msuwine on 4/16/2021 & rated 93 points: No matter what the millennial marketers say, the story and the wine are not the same. I love the story of this wine. The name “EE” comes from an early customer of the Bevan wines. Russell and Victoria had cashed out most everything they had, and they were worried they would have to skip the 2009 vintage due to lack of funds. When he found out, “EE” hosted a wine dinner for Bevan, where they sold tens of thousands of dollars of wine - enough to keep the label going. Much respect to “EE.”
Even though I love the story, I didn’t love the wine, with a linear coolness that I don’t often associate with Bevan’s wines. Garnet in color and full in body, the wine offers aromas of blueberry, rhubarb, strawberry, and ground pepper. Though it is only about one third Cab Franc, the flavor profile made me think there was more, with notes of boysenberry, coffee bean, grilled ribeye, and cocoa powder, with a high-toned finish. Blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Cab Franc. 14.7% alcohol. This is more integrated but also more closed than when I had it three and a half years ago (7/17 - 94 points), so my guess is just wait (perpetual advice for many 2013s, I think). 92-93 at the moment. (3670 views) | | | Tasted by Lord of the Bottles on 1/10/2021 & rated 95 points: More floral nose than the Tench of the same vintage just tasted. Red currant. Ginger bread. More open than the Tench given the blend but perhaps a hair less complex. 94-95 (2201 views) | | | Tasted by Indywinefan on 1/10/2021 & rated 96 points: Great wine. Flavors of dark cherry and anise. (2221 views) | | | Tasted by sfwinelover1 on 11/22/2020 & rated 95 points: From the cab taste off vs. a '15 Purlieu BTK with A_M; this was my contribution ($161.99 at the big box wine store about a year ago). I gave this about 3 hours of air, although I'd intended about half that but we pushed our tasting back timewise, so it had ample time to breathe (I checked in on it a couple of times in the interim). On the nose and palate, rich cherries, cassis, black currants, dark earth, Xmas spices, dark flowers, an herbal note from the CF and a pleasantly contrasting bitter note on the end of acidity in the form of bitter chocolate and cranberries. Dark purplish black, medium to full-bodied and thick legs. Medium++ acidity, smooth medium tannins, no heat (a pleasant surprise based on other notes, and a relatively moderate 14.7% abv). Medium+ complexity, intense and super persistent. Again, not what I expected, in a pleasant way. First, this was not a monolithic fruit bomb but a well-balanced, surprisingly well-structured, medium powerful cab. Second, from CT friends WBW and csimm I'd heard that there was significant bottle variation in Bevan's '13 output (and the price cuts on this bottling viz the EE Tench in the surrounding years seemed to back that up), so I was concerned that this might be muted or worse, and likewise, from CT friend msu, that this wine, while good, wasn't a great value viz the Ontogeny (in my one experience with this and with the '16 Ontogeny, I respectfully differ). This wine had great concentration without extraction, power without heat, smoothness without flabbiness, more savoriness than sweetness (again, not expected). It didn't have quite the elegance and subtlety of the best cabs I've been tasting this year, but this was terrific, a delight, a wine I'd buy again at what I paid for it (and I notice that the big box store is now showing an even lower price, although the wine is out of stock) and a clear WOTN for me over the lovely but slightly boring Purlieu. While we drank the wines with only light appetizers, I have no doubt that, unlike many of its cult cab peers, this would likely shine with food. The wine did balance out with the air and perhaps deepen a bit, but it was more than drinkable out of the bottle. Good drinking window, which, despite the general drink now thrust of cult cabs, should continue for many years to come with this bottling's very strong structure. Highly recommended. 95-96 (2607 views) | | | Tasted by drdan8 on 11/8/2020 & rated 92 points: This is a big and unctuous beast of a wine! Removed from a 54 degree active cabinet and let sit in a wide bowl for 1 hour prior to consumption.
Explosive nose of dark fruit, bramble, tobacco leaf, violets, white peppercorn, and herbs. Sweet blackberry, cinnamon, dark cherry, and milk chocolate on the palate. Mid palate is pliant and full. Tannin coming together although the finish was slightly clipped imho.
Little question that this is a well crafted wine, but it does push the boundaries of richness and extraction. I probably would not repurchase this genre of wine today due to changes in palate preference. I would have welcomed more acidity and structure here in the vein of say Ornellaia or Pichon Longueville. (2176 views) | | | Tasted by JimmieJim on 9/3/2020 & rated 91 points: Not sure if I was having an off day or what, but there was just a weird bitterness in the finish of this wine that I could not understand. Great front end with dark fruits and a bit of anise, also great texture but...hope my next one shows me something different. decanted 90 minutes (1979 views) | | | Tasted by VINNICK on 7/27/2020 & rated 92 points: Too extracted for my taste. The wine is huge but it lacks grace and elegance. (1995 views) | | | Tasted by Geaux Tigers on 6/27/2020 & rated 97 points: 2 hr slow ox. Started off slow behind the ‘12 Beta, but accelerated past and nearly blew away everyone at 90 min. Even I was surprised at how much this improved after we started drinking. Wow was a word used more than once. Franc and CS integrated, no oak or tannins in play. Deep dark inky wine. Black cherry, black raspberry, definitely Tench components. A big wine indeed, but did not overpower the Italian food we enjoyed. (2535 views) | | | Tasted by Quiet Lion on 4/19/2020 & rated 95 points: Decanted and served. The EE is one of my favorite Bevans, with its plentiful helping of Cab Franc mixed in with the Cab Sauv. Like all the Bevans it's palate filling. The 2013 is particularly unctuous with Russell's usual pure fruit and a very long finish. It's easy drinking and yet bowls you over. Wonderful. (2886 views) | | | Tasted by WineBurrowingWombat on 11/10/2019 & rated 90 points: Nose: Initial black cherries with a slight ripe raspberries, followed by dark plums and raisins like from a fortified dessert wine. Can't seem to pick up any earth but there is a slight soft oak. There is also a subtle mint leaf present (that's right.. singular, one mint leaf). With time in the glass, the alcoholic heat becomes slightly more pronounced and a slight bitter chocolate.
Palate: Similar dark plums and raisins from the nose, soft yet firm oak, soft spice and slight deep earth. The alcoholic heat doesn't let up even with time (and I'm sure I'm giving it plenty of time and vigorous swirling in the glass). ... . .. thank goodness, with enough time (it's been about ~1.5 hours) the alcoholic heat fades.
Really dark garnet color, almost black. Dry with a touch of sweetness and medium amounts of fine, slippery tannins. Medium-minus body with light-plus to medium-minus acidity. Good finish of about 13-16+ seconds. I don't remember this being like this before.. I can't tell whether if it's bottle variation or if it's on the fast track for the decline in its life.. can't be though, it's been only about 5 months since I last had this. Maybe bottle variation but it was stored well as the cork seems to indicate; no sign of seepage at all. It's sort of flat in flavor.. just plums and soft earth. I think this is what linear means. What a difference though since I first had this. Maybe it's going into a dumb phase, I don't know. This bottle tonight has a big, neon-blue question mark floating above it.
Other notes: No decant, time in glass. Bordeaux glasses. Initially served ~57° then came to room temp ~62°. Consumed over the course of ~4 hours. Suggested decanting time of at least an hour; the heat did not wanna let up tonight. (3268 views) | | | Tasted by unrelenting on 10/18/2019 & rated 96 points: Big Napa with typical blackberry and chocolate. (2404 views) | | | Tasted by WineBurrowingWombat on 7/28/2019 & rated 95 points: Nose: Floral notes with integrated ripe purple fruits from above, red fruits and some cranberries as you come closer to the glass, deep earth with spiced oak box as you go into the glass.
Palate: Lots of vivid red, blue and purple fruit, rich, almost chalky earth and similar spiced box note.
Dark Garnet color with a slight purpling. Dry with medium amounts of smooth and slightly chewy tannins. Medium body with medium acidity, maybe medium-plus but it's well hidden. Good finish of about 15+ seconds. Great amount of fruit with rich and dense earth. I estimate a good 4-5 years for the fruit to stay before it starts fading and the tertiary notes start appearing. Very enjoyable now in my opinion but a biased statement there.. I love the fruit in young wines. (2934 views) | | | Tasted by Geaux Tigers on 7/16/2019 & rated 93 points: Napa 2019; 7/14/2019-7/18/2019: Tasted at Bevan. Prior note from 2017 applies here. Did not get much air time so didn’t show its full potential— but oh the potential for greatness! Will let my remaining bottles rest for 3-5 years. 93 for today with room to run upper 90s with a few years or perhaps on a fruit or flower day. (3019 views) | | | Tasted by npettit on 3/18/2019 & rated 96 points: Drinking well now. (2477 views) | | | Tasted by patwjr on 7/8/2018 & rated 96 points: Pnp, drank over 2 hours. A touch tight at first. 1 hour in - fruit is rich, sweet, smooth, delicious; tannins tame & smooth. A 2013 CA Cab you can enjoy now. (3127 views) | | | Tasted by Slick23861 on 4/1/2018 & rated 96 points: Absolutely delicious (3367 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2013 Napa Valley: Once Upon a Time in America… (Oct 2015) (10/1/2015)
(Bevan Cellars Red Wine Ee Tench Vineyard Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Bevan Cellars Producer websiteRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Oakville |
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