2018 Teeter-Totter Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Benoit Touquette, in the words of critic Jeb Dunnuck, is “unquestionably a rising superstar.” He’s a 100-point genius whose cult-level Realm Cabernets have collectors falling over each other to pay $400+ per bottle. His own Fait-Main Cabs are a relative bargain—but still command $200 and more.

Benoit’s Teeter-Totter Cabernet, on the other hand, is an undisputed, all-time Wine Access favorite, and it’s easy to see why: At just $65, it’s a Cabernet that brings all of Touquette’s talents to bear—in the cellar, yes, but also in sourcing grapes from top Napa Valley sites in the prime AVAs of Oakville, Calistoga, St. Helena, and even Pritchard Hill. 

The result is a Cab with the kind of critical praise that’s all but unheard-of at this price. The last two vintages earned 95 points each from Jeb Dunnuck, who asserted that this bottle will “easily compete with wine that costs 3-4 times its going rate.” 

Dunnuck hasn’t rated the 2018 yet, but you can do the same math we did: Add a 100-point talent, a critical tear, and what’s shaping up to be one of the greatest vintages in the history of Napa Valley...  Even before we tasted Benoit’s incredible 2018 Teeter-Totter, we knew that it would crush it.

The first sip proved us right. Deep purple in the glass, it’s marked by powerful aromas of blackberries, black currant jam, and unsweetened cocoa powder. The palate is round and rich, with flavors of black cherries, plums, blackberries, and a wave of vanilla mixed with toasted baking spice, all built on a structure of supple tannins. 

This is what we’d call a masterful under-$100 expression of great Napa terroir and winemaking—even if the price were $99. At $65, it’s unquestionably one of the greatest and most pedigreed Cabernet deals going… and it’ll be gone after this offer, our last call for the 2018.  

When Benoit left his home in Bordeaux for California’s Cabernet epicenter, he was devoted to becoming the best winemaker he could—so he positioned himself deftly alongside Andy Erickson at Ovid and Screaming Eagle, and chose a stellar mentor in Michel Rolland, the world-famous consulting winemaker whose name is on 100-pointers by Harlan, BOND, and Araujo. Benoit and Rolland remain close to this day, with an influence that shows in the high scores of Benoit’s wines—and in this edition of Teeter-Totter.

Coming from a Napa Valley vintage that many are calling one of the best ever, the 2018 Teeter-Totter will thrive in the cellar but deliver a ton of pleasure out of the gate today with its expansive, ripe fruit flavors and firm tannins. This kind of talent and terroir don’t usually come for less than $150.

Today, it's $65… but it won’t come again.