| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.7 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 46 notes) - hiding notes with no text |
| | Tasted by rylanreynolds on 2/2/2022 & rated 95 points: Firing on all cylinders tonight. See my earlier notes but had this one opened since yesterday - pulled cork and put it back in for a 24 hour slow ox. Fantastic Beckstoffer Bourn! (1532 views) |
| | Tasted by rylanreynolds on 1/25/2022 & rated 94 points: This is certainly an earlier Benoit wine, having drank multiple Realm cellars wines in the last 2 years I can see this as his earlier craft in development. Medium + tannin, full bodied, slightly acidic. Certainly an excellent representative of the 2012 vintage. Wet stone, lilac, dark fruit on the nose. Blackberry, cassis, dark cherry, with a black licorice pinch on the hard palate. At 10 years old, a 94+ this has even more years ahead. 2 more bottles from the OWC. (1413 views) |
| | Tasted by jimyeni on 10/13/2021 & rated 94 points: Very good. Still very youthful while also very layered an so moles very enjoyable ant solbar (1689 views) |
| | Tasted by TGOT on 6/26/2021 & rated 94 points: Blackberry, blueberry and hints of vanilla. More flavors on the back end than up front. Smooth tannins and nice mouthfeel. Drinking great right now. (1739 views) |
| | Tasted by Dalex on 1/1/2021 & rated 90 points: Upon opening the first thing that struck me was this is a massive wine. Just heavy on the palate in a tiring way. In addition, the oak was not only present but seemed like it had a heavy char. Of course the fruit was there, but the wine was just so overwhelming and completely unrefined. 2/5 of the bottle consumed with the rest put in the fridge.
Day 2-removed from fridge at mid day go warm up. The charred oak was still there but seemed to somewhat integrate better. The weight and balance seemed better but not ideal. In the end I poured a glass at around 3 and left it there for 4 hours. When i came back to it I was pleased to see the oak had integrated and it mellowed into a much more refined, elegant and perhaps even a delicate wine. Completely different then the day before.
Conclusion-this needs another 5 years in the cellar. 88 today with 92 potential. (2080 views) |
| | Tasted by dpolzien on 4/12/2020 & rated 92 points: Decanted 4 hours. Similar to an earlier review, noticed that on it's own, the Petit Syrah dominated, but it absolutely came alive when paired with a dry aged KC Strip - almost a completely different wine. Would definitely recommend the pairing for the full experience! Lost a bit on Day 2, but still enjoyed (1670 views) |
| | Tasted by jcampano on 2/2/2020 & rated 94 points: Bouquet of violets, blackberry and cedar followed by bold flavors of plum, blueberry, black cherry and spice. Benoit Touquette is the man when it comes to crafting outstanding blends. 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% petit Verdot. WOTN for sure as we polished off a magnum by halftime of the Super Bowl. (1698 views) |
| | Tasted by KenK on 8/22/2019 & rated 94 points: Big rich savory dark red fruit forward wine with nice sweet succulent flavors and nice intensity. Yummy
Drank at Realm event at Mastros with the winemaker Benoit
Wine of the night was the 2017 preview of the Dr. Crane (2045 views) |
| | Tasted by #1Winelover on 7/12/2019 & rated 93 points: Nice wine. The Petite Sirah is still overpowering but the wine has softened up some. I am not sure if this needs more time or if the Cab has petered out... (2941 views) |
| | Tasted by Mapleglo330 on 4/28/2019 & rated 94 points: Rich and delicious, chocolate, raspberry, smooth tannins. Gets better as the night goes on. Drink now with a decant or hold. (1666 views) |
| | Tasted by jimyeni on 3/15/2019 & rated 94 points: Such a great bottle of wine, very elegant, perfect weight - not too heavy, not too light, vibrant and balanced with some great mid palate acidity. Beautiful fruit. Have had good experiences with Kata. (1673 views) |
| | Tasted by Geaux Tigers on 4/27/2018 & rated 90 points: Better than last bottle after 7 hrs in decanter and back into the bottle. Started to show better 90 min into drinking. Mrs Geaux loved it and awarded 94, go figure. Just stubbornly closed and needs time in the cellar. Still has potential. Try again in 2020. (2623 views) |
| | Tasted by jimyeni on 12/22/2017 & rated 94 points: Wow, great wine. Freshly picked and ripe but not overripe blackberries on the nose. There is just such a freshness and elegance to the wine, beautiful uplifting mid palate with a mouth coating finish. So good now, likely to improve as it continues to smooth out.
Drank after a quick decant as the wine we intended to drink and decanted for an hour ended up being flawed. (2747 views) |
| | Tasted by iamandyc on 10/21/2017 & rated 93 points: Very rich chocolatey wine. Lots of structure that integrated over two days. Long finish. Petite Sirah dominates. (2718 views) |
| | Tasted by Andrew Hunter on 8/10/2017 & rated 95 points: Brilliant. Beautiful nose and berry notes. Fantastic finish on this wine. Surprisingly delicious. (3038 views) |
| | Tasted by #1Winelover on 6/5/2017 & rated 92 points: Big difference from last tasting. Right now, the Petite Sirah is overpowering the Cab Sauv. It still had elegance but hopefully its just going through a phase. (4326 views) |
| | Tasted by Geaux Tigers on 5/20/2017 & rated 88 points: Not sure what to make of this. Decanted 4 hrs and drank over 2. Got whooped by most everything else tonite. Seems to have potential but the PS seems to have the CS locked in. Some muted chocolate cherry notes, but very muted. May be in a locked down dumb phase. Will give these more time. Disappointed! (2916 views) |
| | Tasted by blarmston on 5/8/2017 & rated 94 points: Cracked this open after I realized I had an extra bottle in storage.
What an amazingly balanced wine. Great nose, medium mid palate and nice smooth finish. The inclusion of roughly 20% Petite Syrah was a nice touch. This wine has plenty of life ahead of it.
First true experience with Benoit Touquette's effort from the famed Hayne Vineyard in St Helena, next to Dr Crane. Vineyard renamed Bourn after the original owners of the land.
Cant wait to try the 2014 and then 13's in a couple years.
Benoit is KILLING IT right now... (2860 views) |
| | Tasted by Thirsty1 on 5/3/2017: I'm really impressed with this last bottle I've opened. I simply confirms my belief that Napa cabs in and around that 5-7, maybe 8 or 9 year old window are where it happens. They are less temperamental, the components are more complimentary, the cylinders begin to work in unison. Depth, maturing fruit with vibrancy. I'll bet this will be what I think is phenomenal in another 2ish years. The cusp of beginning maturity just before/when secondary traits begin to expose themselves. (2362 views) |
| | Tasted by msuwine on 3/17/2017 & rated 95 points: A dark and plush Cabernet-based blend that is drinking beautifully right now. Dark purple in color, full in body, enticing nose of black cherry, pencil shavings, and gravel. Tastes of boysenberry, graphite, pepper, and cedar, with a lingering and silky finish with integrated tannins. The round and layered mouth-feel reminds me of Benoit's work at Realm and Fait-Main - comparisons I mean as the highest of compliments. Blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Petite Sirah. 14.1% alcohol. A beautiful wine that has several years left, but it tastes fully integrated now. (2745 views) |
| | Tasted by ageverett on 11/26/2016 & rated 93 points: Decanted for about 6 hours.
Also had a 2001 Phelps Backus and 2007 Jack Quinn open.
This was 3rd out of 3 for all of us. Nose was cocoa. Palate was a tinge sweet. Smooth enough texture, but a tad heavy. I wouldn't call it syrupy at all, and it wasn't over-oaked, just a bit heavy. Finish was just decent.
About a third of the bottle remained in the decanter overnight. I drank it on Night 2 along with a 2014 Myriad NV, which bested the Kata noticeably. The Kata hadn't changed much in that time. (2730 views) |
| | Tasted by Thirsty1 on 8/20/2016: This is a very good bottle of wine. QPR? Eh? Lots of chocolate/mocha/blueberry happening. 2 hour decant and drank over 2 hours next to a Chimney Rock Reserve 2012. Kata was better. Lots going on mid-way and tannins were drying. It could use more time in bottle to hit it's stride. A bottle to revisit. Enjoyed at STK Miami (2493 views) |
| | Tasted by BeaverBob on 3/5/2016 & rated 92 points: Impressive. very dark color, tastes of every dark fruit known. Needs to be decanted for 4-5 hrs before enjoying. Even thought it was a bit tight, it was pleasing to the palette. (2902 views) |
| | Tasted by RMundell on 2/23/2016 & rated 94 points: Huge wine. Deep dark fruit very concentrated. Needs time but very nice. (3168 views) |
| | Tasted by ageverett on 10/16/2015 & rated 95 points: Took to dinner. Was decanted for about an hour prior to drinking.
Incredibly expressive nose. Purple fruit. Very floral, almost perfumed (in a good way). Great bouquet. Reminded me of a Dr. Crane profile - very much St. Helena. This was a lean, medium weight on the palate. Lush and opulent. Very smooth finish. Tannins already well integrated.
This was super tasty, but played second fiddle to the 2012 Schrader GIII in overall deliverables and complexity. Wouldn't be scared to open this in the near term - performed nicely with minimal air. (4104 views) |
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