What a perfectly balanced wine. Gorgeous aromas of blackberry, black cherry and licorice with an array of flavors that evolved with every sip. I will be looking to purchase more of this wine if I can find it.
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An exceptional bottle. Still young at 8 yrs, and dominant. Beautiful back fruit with well structured soft and complex tannins. Notes of vanilla and cassis with a balance that’s incredibly pleasing. An outstanding wine.
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Sweet floral aromas (violets) with black cherries, blueberry pie and licorice. On the palate, flavors of ripe plums, vanilla, blackberries and raspberries. Silky tannins and a 15-second finish.
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Fantast wine…. complex and well balance with a great nose and palate to match. Paired it with a wood grilled tenderloin and it went together brilliantly. It went toe-to-toe with a 2013 Prince of Heart CA blend and in fact was significantly better.
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Starting to close down with mid section and finish clipping off quickly. Still ripe and luxurious with loads of milk chocolate, blueberry, cassis, black pepper, and anise up front. Really like the density added by the Petite Sirah. Chewy tannins need time to mellow. Give it 3-4 more years.
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Massive right from the start and more than approachable. Thick and chewy with the Petite Sirah really shining through. Milk chocolate, blueberry, cassis, black pepper, and anise. Still young and needing 4-5 more years but just so good now. Drinks more like a Saxum than a Napa Cabernet.
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This thick and creamy Cabernet is drinking beautifully right now, with a pillowy texture that shows Benoit at his best - along with a unique touch of rusticity from the Petite Sirah (20%). It's been a few years since I had the 2012 Kata, and this is even better than I remembered.
Dark red (almost black) in color and full (almost creamy) in body, the wine's aromas include blueberry, mulberry, and baking spices. The wine offers integrated tastes of boysenberry, milk chocolate, pepper, and black licorice, with a viscous and mouth-coating finish (whole milk all the way) that is more silky than grainy. 14.1% alcohol. This is within its drinking window, with the density to last at least 2-3 more years. Decant at least an hour. Fantastic on second day.
I am an unapologetic fan of Benoit Touquette's wines, and I think Kata is one of his most unique - not the best, but one of the most interesting (in a tasty kind of way!). To me, the top tier of Benoit's work is Realm and Fait-Main, which offer the most depth and character. I think the middle tier includes Hartwell and Jack Quinn, which offer more value and a little less substance (still, those Hartwells are fantastic). Kata's use of Petit Sirah puts it somewhere in between for me - depth with uniqueness, in an incredibly polished package. The guy knows what he's doing, and - even if you've tasted his more traditional Cabernets - this is well worth a try.
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The 2015 is full of bright fruit, well built, and a round wine. It drinks well after 30 minutes of decanting and feels like it will drink well for the next several years.
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This has gotten markedly better since last time I tried this a couple months ago. It has settled down a bit and become more integrated.
This is a dense, full bodied little gem, with mouth coating flavors of chocolate, plum, dark berry.
I have never had a bottle of Kata that hasn't blown me away. If you aren't on the Kata train, get on it. But don't tell too many people about it, please :)
95 with clear upside. Drink now with 90 minute decant.
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This wine is the 2015 vintage (rich, hedonistic, concentrated) on ARod steroids.
Decided to pop one since my 1/2 case arrived yesterday. Having had the 2012 last week, figured I would crack one and lay the rest down. Boy does this needs time. Its just too, for lack of a better word, intense. Perhaps the 20% of Petite Syrah is adding too much depth right now, but this just felt heavy to me. With time I am confident this will settle down and become another great Kata effort.
The purity of fruit is there, as well as the craftsmanship that is evident.
Give this a year or two, and enjoy over next 7-10. 94 for now, but I could see another point or two up for sure...
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2/10/2024 - Bob23 Likes this wine: 95 Points
So good. Unmistakably Napa in its lushness, but impeccable balance.
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11/21/2023 - jcampano Likes this wine: 98 Points
What a perfectly balanced wine. Gorgeous aromas of blackberry, black cherry and licorice with an array of flavors that evolved with every sip. I will be looking to purchase more of this wine if I can find it.
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5/27/2023 - bigdogsteve Likes this wine: 97 Points
An exceptional bottle. Still young at 8 yrs, and dominant. Beautiful back fruit with well structured soft and complex tannins. Notes of vanilla and cassis with a balance that’s incredibly pleasing. An outstanding wine.
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6/14/2022 - jcampano Likes this wine: 95 Points
Sweet floral aromas (violets) with black cherries, blueberry pie and licorice. On the palate, flavors of ripe plums, vanilla, blackberries and raspberries. Silky tannins and a 15-second finish.
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6/12/2022 - DawgByte Likes this wine: 95 Points
Fantast wine…. complex and well balance with a great nose and palate to match. Paired it with a wood grilled tenderloin and it went together brilliantly. It went toe-to-toe with a 2013 Prince of Heart CA blend and in fact was significantly better.
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11/13/2019 - npettit wrote: 94 Points
Still needs lots of time. Nice wine, big.
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11/2/2019 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 95 Points
Starting to close down with mid section and finish clipping off quickly. Still ripe and luxurious with loads of milk chocolate, blueberry, cassis, black pepper, and anise up front. Really like the density added by the Petite Sirah. Chewy tannins need time to mellow. Give it 3-4 more years.
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3/2/2019 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 97 Points
Massive right from the start and more than approachable. Thick and chewy with the Petite Sirah really shining through. Milk chocolate, blueberry, cassis, black pepper, and anise. Still young and needing 4-5 more years but just so good now. Drinks more like a Saxum than a Napa Cabernet.
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2/25/2019 - msuwine wrote: 95 Points
This thick and creamy Cabernet is drinking beautifully right now, with a pillowy texture that shows Benoit at his best - along with a unique touch of rusticity from the Petite Sirah (20%). It's been a few years since I had the 2012 Kata, and this is even better than I remembered.
Dark red (almost black) in color and full (almost creamy) in body, the wine's aromas include blueberry, mulberry, and baking spices. The wine offers integrated tastes of boysenberry, milk chocolate, pepper, and black licorice, with a viscous and mouth-coating finish (whole milk all the way) that is more silky than grainy. 14.1% alcohol. This is within its drinking window, with the density to last at least 2-3 more years. Decant at least an hour. Fantastic on second day.
I am an unapologetic fan of Benoit Touquette's wines, and I think Kata is one of his most unique - not the best, but one of the most interesting (in a tasty kind of way!). To me, the top tier of Benoit's work is Realm and Fait-Main, which offer the most depth and character. I think the middle tier includes Hartwell and Jack Quinn, which offer more value and a little less substance (still, those Hartwells are fantastic). Kata's use of Petit Sirah puts it somewhere in between for me - depth with uniqueness, in an incredibly polished package. The guy knows what he's doing, and - even if you've tasted his more traditional Cabernets - this is well worth a try.
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10/22/2018 - SAS54 Likes this wine: 95 Points
The 2015 is full of bright fruit, well built, and a round wine. It drinks well after 30 minutes of decanting and feels like it will drink well for the next several years.
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6/26/2018 - blarmston Likes this wine: 96 Points
This has gotten markedly better since last time I tried this a couple months ago. It has settled down a bit and become more integrated.
This is a dense, full bodied little gem, with mouth coating flavors of chocolate, plum, dark berry.
I have never had a bottle of Kata that hasn't blown me away. If you aren't on the Kata train, get on it. But don't tell too many people about it, please :)
95 with clear upside. Drink now with 90 minute decant.
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3/9/2018 - blarmston Likes this wine: 94 Points
This wine is the 2015 vintage (rich, hedonistic, concentrated) on ARod steroids.
Decided to pop one since my 1/2 case arrived yesterday. Having had the 2012 last week, figured I would crack one and lay the rest down. Boy does this needs time. Its just too, for lack of a better word, intense. Perhaps the 20% of Petite Syrah is adding too much depth right now, but this just felt heavy to me. With time I am confident this will settle down and become another great Kata effort.
The purity of fruit is there, as well as the craftsmanship that is evident.
Give this a year or two, and enjoy over next 7-10.
94 for now, but I could see another point or two up for sure...
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