Losing steam. Probably was better 2 years ago, a few years left but losing depth and complexity. Still drinkable and enjoyable but illustrative of the vintage. 92 with downside after 2023.
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This showed a;ugh;y better than my last one from 13 months ago. While that bottle seemed to lack. Bit of life, perhaps in a shutdown phase, this was ready to go with two hours in the decanter.
I didn’t get any of the mid palate flabbiness that MSU experienced with his last bottle. It was nicely balanced, exhibiting a more feminine tone that benoit’s LPV bottling also from FM.
I am once again impressed with how he handles this vineyard, and will be eagerly looking forward to the 2018 releases...
An easy 94 now with slight upside. Wish I had more of this...
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This wine is more shallow and diffuse than it was two years ago (10/17 - 95 points), in a way that could be the vintage, the vineyard, age, or randomness. Whatever the reason, I liked it a lot less this time around. Dark purple in color; medium in body; nose of blueberry, espresso, and leather. Tastes of black cherry, cocoa powder, leather, and anise, with a somewhat sour and brief finish. 14.1% alcohol.
I followed this for several hours, hoping for it to find another gear, but it seemed stuck somewhere in neutral, if not tilting backwards. The main issue was a lack of mid-palate intensity, which resulted in a flat wine - plush, yes, but a little hollow, too. Drink in next year or so.
I really don't know what to say about this apart from it is heavenly.
Not sure why I have not given it a 100 - I just think its only healthy to strive for better all the time but I not really sure there is better out there. We are one of the few I am sure to taste this amazing wine - long live fait main it has made my night.
Decanted for 90 minutes, at first I was a bit disappointed. Not as full of a mouthfeel as I was expecting. Nice floral and cherry bouquet, but the finish was a bit lacking.
As the evening wore on and with a bit more air, the Lady started to strut. It developed complexity and length, showing dark cherry, chocolate, and a nice mineral component.
I agree with others that I dont feel this will improve with age- but could be a great candidate to drink over the next 3+ years.
A nice effort from FM, but I still greatly prefer their Las Piedras offering.
93 with slight upside..
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Decided to re-visit after a year -- and after having a fabulous bottle of Nicholson Jones.
The Sleeping Lady was perfectly fine. A little ripe and rich, definitely ready to drink. I believe that unfortunately, this will not get better with time. Hopefully, I am wrong!
93-94 points
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Dark and inky, decanted 90 min. Mint chocolate purple flowers with a hint of minerality. Red and purple fruit. Great medium-long finish. Tannins fine grained and need a little more cellar time to fully integrate. Would not hesitate to drink again with a decant. A beautiful effort by Benoit!
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Ideally I was planning to let this vintage lay down longer but I have an opportunity to buy more but wanted to check it out first. Purple fruit - blueberry, blackberry, dark currants, and a little plum. Fairly rich and a little sweet. Smooth mid-palate coupled with solid depth and nice flavors of dark berries, some spice, and a little mineral component. Fairly long finish. Decanted for one hour and drank over another two. Improved a little with time. 100% cab.
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The 2014 Sleeping Lady is ripe, silky, and intense in all the right ways - and it comes close to the 2013. To be clear, I think the 2013 edges out the 2014, but not by as much as I thought; if anything, they are far more similar than different. How do I know (or know as much as I can know)? I tasted them side-by-side, all for the sake of posterity, science, and a Friday night at home in California.
In other words, you coulda been anywhere in the world tonight, but you're here with us on CellarTracker. Are you ready for a comparative tasting?*
In one corner: The 2013 Fait-Main Sleeping Lady. It's as beautiful as ever - enticing aromas of boysenberry, cocoa powder, and fresh herbs. Gushing, lovely fruit comes up front (blueberry, sour cherry, rhubarb) followed by lots of chocolate (dark chocolate, mocha) and a silky finish that gives up a little vanilla. This isn't quite as strong as earlier this year (a little more chalkiness), but it's still lovely - balanced, in modern terms.
In the other corner: The 2014. It arrives with similar color (ruby red, with a little more brightness), same body (tear drops on both glasses), identical alcohol (14.1%). The aromas of the 2014 are more raw and pungent: raspberry, cacao beans, and rosemary. The flavors involve gloriously concentrated fruit, if a bit darker (mountain blueberry, black cherry), chocolatey texture, and a bit more tannic grip (espresso). In football terms, the 2014 is more of a linebacker (powerful and versatile) than a safety (compact and focused), but it's still a damn good player.
The winner: 2013, by a hair. The bottom line: the two wines are more similar than different.
How are they similar? Both have a milk chocolate mouthfeel, insanely concentrated fruit, and an elegant finish - in other words, these are Benoit Touquette wines. They each have polish, intensity, and class. Though it could just be me (no wine-related acronyms after my name, to be sure), I had to think hard to tell the difference with the wines next to each other.
How are they different? The 2014 was wider, and the 2013 was deeper. The 2014 was rounder, fatter, lusher; it coated the mouth with lovely fruit and chocolate, with very few harsh edges for a wine this young. The 2013 was more integrated, layered, and focused, with a smaller profile but more obvious complexity. The mid-palate was where the 2013 inched out the 2014 - a little more thickness and integration - but, boy, this one was close.
The structure of the 2013 will serve it better in the longer term, but both of these bottles are drinking great right now. I didn't see the flattening that CSIMM1161 noticed over time (but I wasn't drinking it next to the Las Piedras), but I agree that 6-12 months will do the 2014 some good (to shed some baby fat). Overall, though, I was concerned the 2014 might be an obviously weaker wine - and it wasn't. This Benoit guy must know what he's doing...
* Apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda (and, really, everyone).
Fait Main (Bouchon - Yountville): Notes blue and black fruit, blue river rock, and some spice. Round, plush, and extremely inviting, this wine washes over the palate with ripe fruit and a medium-bodied delivery.
Initially, this wine reminded me of an overly simple version of a 2014 Maybach Materium in terms of its sweet, ripe fruit and sucrose-driven attack. With air, the Sleeping Lady became a little fruity, which flattened-out the complexity ever so slightly. This was served side-by-side with the 2014 Fait Main LPV, which further accentuated the Sleeping Lady's more lush and plush style. Started to show some baby fat after a couple of hours of air. I favored LPV by a decent margin.
92-93+ points with some possible upside in a year. Hopefully it can shed a little baby fat, however, this (like many 2014s) gives the impression that it will be better as a more near-term drinker. For those holding bottles, I'd wait another 6-12 months and follow it over the coming 4+ years. I would definitely recommend not over-exposing it to air at this point, as that seems to drive out the subtle nuances and replace them with more sweet fruit flavors.
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Once again, this lady was singing! Opaque purple throughout, with a sweet smell. Medium to full-bodied, with berry fruit and plum, a little graphite and some soda which is typical from Sleeping Lady. This was enjoyable from the 1st sip to the long finish. A very well made wine, it was the WOTN and the 1st bottle that we finished.
Let this breathe for about an hour. Drank over 2 hours.
The girls preferred this one blind to the G3 Reserve that was also open. I liked the nose better on the G3, but no doubt this was better on the finish. The F-M had a bit more sweetness (in a good way) and just finished more completely.
For me a good candidate to drink early.
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This was a fun roller coaster ride for me. Gave two hour decant to start. Deep dark purple almost opaque. Primary notes of blackberries and sweet cassis liqueur. Medium to full bodied mouth feel. Completely seamless and perfectly balanced. With about an hour's air this shut down on me. Very tight and some alcohol presented itself. I let this sit another hour and it was back. Some forest floor developed with chocolate and building tannins. I think this will develope nicely although delicious now. 95+
This girl needed lots of air and then she was singing. The color is dark purple with a blue hue. The fruits matched the color; blue, purple, and black, including blueberries, blackberries, and plum. I also tasted licorice and some earthy notes. Obviously, a lot going on in the glass. Similar to FM's LPV, this does not have the pronounced and typical tastes from Sleeping Lady. It is complex and just great. This was very hard to stop drinking!
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4/28/2023 - Bob23 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very solid and impeccable balance, but seemed a little muted tonight.
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10/31/2022 - eschuldt wrote: 92 Points
Agree this is on the decline. Somewhat disjointed.
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9/2/2022 - ajrez wrote: 92 Points
Losing steam. Probably was better 2 years ago, a few years left but losing depth and complexity. Still drinkable and enjoyable but illustrative of the vintage. 92 with downside after 2023.
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5/29/2020 - blarmston Likes this wine: 94 Points
From a bottle opened on Wednesday evening.
This showed a;ugh;y better than my last one from 13 months ago. While that bottle seemed to lack. Bit of life, perhaps in a shutdown phase, this was ready to go with two hours in the decanter.
I didn’t get any of the mid palate flabbiness that MSU experienced with his last bottle. It was nicely balanced, exhibiting a more feminine tone that benoit’s LPV bottling also from FM.
I am once again impressed with how he handles this vineyard, and will be eagerly looking forward to the 2018 releases...
An easy 94 now with slight upside. Wish I had more of this...
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10/11/2019 - msuwine wrote: 93 Points
This wine is more shallow and diffuse than it was two years ago (10/17 - 95 points), in a way that could be the vintage, the vineyard, age, or randomness. Whatever the reason, I liked it a lot less this time around. Dark purple in color; medium in body; nose of blueberry, espresso, and leather. Tastes of black cherry, cocoa powder, leather, and anise, with a somewhat sour and brief finish. 14.1% alcohol.
I followed this for several hours, hoping for it to find another gear, but it seemed stuck somewhere in neutral, if not tilting backwards. The main issue was a lack of mid-palate intensity, which resulted in a flat wine - plush, yes, but a little hollow, too. Drink in next year or so.
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9/9/2018 - JJB007 Likes this wine: 99 Points
I really don't know what to say about this apart from it is heavenly.
Not sure why I have not given it a 100 - I just think its only healthy to strive for better all the time but I not really sure there is better out there. We are one of the few I am sure to taste this amazing wine - long live fait main it has made my night.
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8/30/2018 - blarmston Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is a nicely balanced wine.
Decanted for 90 minutes, at first I was a bit disappointed. Not as full of a mouthfeel as I was expecting. Nice floral and cherry bouquet, but the finish was a bit lacking.
As the evening wore on and with a bit more air, the Lady started to strut. It developed complexity and length, showing dark cherry, chocolate, and a nice mineral component.
I agree with others that I dont feel this will improve with age- but could be a great candidate to drink over the next 3+ years.
A nice effort from FM, but I still greatly prefer their Las Piedras offering.
93 with slight upside..
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7/3/2018 - #1Winelover wrote: 93 Points
Decided to re-visit after a year -- and after having a fabulous bottle of Nicholson Jones.
The Sleeping Lady was perfectly fine. A little ripe and rich, definitely ready to drink. I believe that unfortunately, this will not get better with time. Hopefully, I am wrong!
93-94 points
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3/24/2018 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark and inky, decanted 90 min. Mint chocolate purple flowers with a hint of minerality. Red and purple fruit. Great medium-long finish. Tannins fine grained and need a little more cellar time to fully integrate. Would not hesitate to drink again with a decant. A beautiful effort by Benoit!
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10/22/2017 - Badmonkey wrote: 94 Points
Ideally I was planning to let this vintage lay down longer but I have an opportunity to buy more but wanted to check it out first. Purple fruit - blueberry, blackberry, dark currants, and a little plum. Fairly rich and a little sweet. Smooth mid-palate coupled with solid depth and nice flavors of dark berries, some spice, and a little mineral component. Fairly long finish. Decanted for one hour and drank over another two. Improved a little with time. 100% cab.
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10/20/2017 - msuwine wrote: 95 Points
The 2014 Sleeping Lady is ripe, silky, and intense in all the right ways - and it comes close to the 2013. To be clear, I think the 2013 edges out the 2014, but not by as much as I thought; if anything, they are far more similar than different. How do I know (or know as much as I can know)? I tasted them side-by-side, all for the sake of posterity, science, and a Friday night at home in California.
In other words, you coulda been anywhere in the world tonight, but you're here with us on CellarTracker. Are you ready for a comparative tasting?*
In one corner: The 2013 Fait-Main Sleeping Lady. It's as beautiful as ever - enticing aromas of boysenberry, cocoa powder, and fresh herbs. Gushing, lovely fruit comes up front (blueberry, sour cherry, rhubarb) followed by lots of chocolate (dark chocolate, mocha) and a silky finish that gives up a little vanilla. This isn't quite as strong as earlier this year (a little more chalkiness), but it's still lovely - balanced, in modern terms.
In the other corner: The 2014. It arrives with similar color (ruby red, with a little more brightness), same body (tear drops on both glasses), identical alcohol (14.1%). The aromas of the 2014 are more raw and pungent: raspberry, cacao beans, and rosemary. The flavors involve gloriously concentrated fruit, if a bit darker (mountain blueberry, black cherry), chocolatey texture, and a bit more tannic grip (espresso). In football terms, the 2014 is more of a linebacker (powerful and versatile) than a safety (compact and focused), but it's still a damn good player.
The winner: 2013, by a hair. The bottom line: the two wines are more similar than different.
How are they similar? Both have a milk chocolate mouthfeel, insanely concentrated fruit, and an elegant finish - in other words, these are Benoit Touquette wines. They each have polish, intensity, and class. Though it could just be me (no wine-related acronyms after my name, to be sure), I had to think hard to tell the difference with the wines next to each other.
How are they different? The 2014 was wider, and the 2013 was deeper. The 2014 was rounder, fatter, lusher; it coated the mouth with lovely fruit and chocolate, with very few harsh edges for a wine this young. The 2013 was more integrated, layered, and focused, with a smaller profile but more obvious complexity. The mid-palate was where the 2013 inched out the 2014 - a little more thickness and integration - but, boy, this one was close.
The structure of the 2013 will serve it better in the longer term, but both of these bottles are drinking great right now. I didn't see the flattening that CSIMM1161 noticed over time (but I wasn't drinking it next to the Las Piedras), but I agree that 6-12 months will do the 2014 some good (to shed some baby fat). Overall, though, I was concerned the 2014 might be an obviously weaker wine - and it wasn't. This Benoit guy must know what he's doing...
* Apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda (and, really, everyone).
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10/2/2017 - csimm wrote: 93 Points
Fait Main (Bouchon - Yountville): Notes blue and black fruit, blue river rock, and some spice. Round, plush, and extremely inviting, this wine washes over the palate with ripe fruit and a medium-bodied delivery.
Initially, this wine reminded me of an overly simple version of a 2014 Maybach Materium in terms of its sweet, ripe fruit and sucrose-driven attack. With air, the Sleeping Lady became a little fruity, which flattened-out the complexity ever so slightly. This was served side-by-side with the 2014 Fait Main LPV, which further accentuated the Sleeping Lady's more lush and plush style. Started to show some baby fat after a couple of hours of air. I favored LPV by a decent margin.
92-93+ points with some possible upside in a year. Hopefully it can shed a little baby fat, however, this (like many 2014s) gives the impression that it will be better as a more near-term drinker. For those holding bottles, I'd wait another 6-12 months and follow it over the coming 4+ years. I would definitely recommend not over-exposing it to air at this point, as that seems to drive out the subtle nuances and replace them with more sweet fruit flavors.
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9/9/2017 - WineForRob wrote: 95 Points
Similar notes as last time. Big ripe fruit with a touch of class on the long finish. Very young but very good.
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7/10/2017 - #1Winelover Likes this wine: 96 Points
Once again, this lady was singing! Opaque purple throughout, with a sweet smell. Medium to full-bodied, with berry fruit and plum, a little graphite and some soda which is typical from Sleeping Lady. This was enjoyable from the 1st sip to the long finish. A very well made wine, it was the WOTN and the 1st bottle that we finished.
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6/25/2017 - ageverett Likes this wine: 94 Points
Let this breathe for about an hour. Drank over 2 hours.
The girls preferred this one blind to the G3 Reserve that was also open. I liked the nose better on the G3, but no doubt this was better on the finish. The F-M had a bit more sweetness (in a good way) and just finished more completely.
For me a good candidate to drink early.
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5/10/2017 - WineForRob wrote: 95 Points
This was a fun roller coaster ride for me. Gave two hour decant to start. Deep dark purple almost opaque. Primary notes of blackberries and sweet cassis liqueur. Medium to full bodied mouth feel. Completely seamless and perfectly balanced. With about an hour's air this shut down on me. Very tight and some alcohol presented itself. I let this sit another hour and it was back. Some forest floor developed with chocolate and building tannins. I think this will develope nicely although delicious now. 95+
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3/10/2017 - #1Winelover Likes this wine: 96 Points
This girl needed lots of air and then she was singing. The color is dark purple with a blue hue. The fruits matched the color; blue, purple, and black, including blueberries, blackberries, and plum. I also tasted licorice and some earthy notes. Obviously, a lot going on in the glass. Similar to FM's LPV, this does not have the pronounced and typical tastes from Sleeping Lady. It is complex and just great. This was very hard to stop drinking!
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