It’s hard not to talk about modern-day Napa Cabernet without mentioning Benoit Toquette. He’s one of the valley’s most sought-after winemakers, having accumulated flawless scores and an outpouring of global praise for his outstanding cellar work at Realm, Arietta, Ovid, and the grandaddy cult label of them all, Screaming Eagle. Teeter-Totter, however, is much more personal: It’s where Benoit is invested both as a winemaker and proprietor, ensuring that his golden stamp is impressed from start to finish.

Today’s 2019 is a premium blend of carefully selected Cabernet Sauvignon & Co. from several of Napa Valley’s famed AVAs, and to prevent the wine from costing many multiples more, the specific vineyard sources are kept under lock and key. To us, it’s very simple: Teeter-Totter provides all the sensory pleasures of $200+ Napa Cabernets—bottomless depth, full-bodied opulence, and that ineffable air of pedigree—at an attractive ‘anti-cult’ price. We’ve uncorked too many bottles to count over the last four vintages but we suspect Toquette’s superbly muscled, sleek, and dark-fruited 2019 will take the crown. Enjoy one now after a two-hour decant and stash away your others for consumption way down the road. 

If you haven’t guessed already, Benoit Toquette is French. Born in Lyon, he dreamed of being a fighter pilot, but an imperfect medical test shuffled his career cards. After flirting with banking and road construction, he ended up on a bottling line in Bordeaux and never looked back. He earned Master Diplomas in both enology and chemistry at the University of Bordeaux, where he apprenticed at Château La Louvière and Château Couhins-Lurton (both in the Graves region). But Bordeaux posed its challenges for winemakers who did not come from a winemaking family, especially for those, like Benoit, who wanted to make exquisite, sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon. So, in pursuit of a “big break,” and unhindered opportunity, Benoit moved to the epicenter of American Cabernet.   

For anyone who has moved across the world, new places are tough, and as a winemaker, Napa Valley is a rare echelon. It’s a region defined by its connections, generations of wine-growing families, and hard loyalties. To stroll in and make world-class Cabernet doesn’t happen overnight. But Touquette has overpaid his wine dues, working alongside the right people (like Andy Erickson) for many years, slowly connecting the dots to Teeter-Totter and Fait-Main. In today’s 2019 release, 85% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley sub-appellations of St. Helena, Rutherford, and Yountville finds its groove with small percentages of Zinfandel, Charbono, and Petite Sirah from Calistoga—three grapes which serve to add an extra dimension of polish and depth. All the fruit is hand-harvested and comes from sustainably farmed vineyards. The wine ages in 65% new French oak for approximately 18 months before bottling. 

Per usual, Teeter-Totter is a hedonist’s Cabernet that oozes lushness, power, and sublime concentration. Polish your finest Bordeaux glasses and decant the wine for no less than one hour before serving around 60-65 degrees. A dense dark purple core with ruby hues reveals itself and, after a few swirls, viscous tears slowly leak down the side. The nose erupts with purple flowers, cassis, kirsch, licorice, black raspberry liqueur, vanilla bean, espresso, Damson plum, and various pie spices on a bed of cedar and crushed black rock. The palate is full-bodied and opulent with lush layers of black-blue fruits that seamlessly meld into a soft mineral core and a hint of damp herbs. Its ability to drink so well in its youth is simply incredible but please do hold back some of your stock for consumption around 2025 and 2030. Cheers!