Disclaimer: I tried these wines after the Howell Mountain throwdown. They are a different style, so take these notes with a grain of salt. I was very excited to try Benoit Toquette’s Fait Main and Teeter Totter wines and he was kind enough to actually be present at Grailey’s to show his wines. We were also treated to The Mascot, a Bill Harlan project, because his girlfriend Nikita also joined him and she’s a national sales rep for The Mascot. Hooray us! Another reason to love Grailey’s.
2016 Fait Main Toyon Vineyard Chardonnay
Refreshing acidity and loaded with pear and honeydew melon and honeysuckle. I question whether this actually has residual sugar, as the palate is rather sweet. It is fairly complex and has a nice acidic cut that keeps things fresh though. Some soft vanilla notes suggest a little oak treatment. I was so so on this because of my perception of sweetness, but have to say that I’m not entirely sure I trust my note. I’d just finished tasting through the massive, brooding Howell Mountain set, then the reds below, and finally this. I honestly don’t know if my perception of sweetness was more to do with the wine or what I’d been drinking. Still, I preferred a Ben Leroux white burg that I also tried next to this. I think this is probably worth buying. [I’ll pass on scoring this until I try it again].
2015 Teeter- Totter Cabernet Sauvignon
I heard lots of “this is good QPR,” at Graileys and on Berserkers. While I guess that’s true, I just don’t think it is that great of a wine. It is a rough-hewn blend of cab and a bunch of other stuff including Syrah, Petite Sirah, Petit Vedot and other Bdx varietals. Structured, but lacking smoothness and significant complexity. Red and black fruit, blackberry bramble. I’d rather spend the money on very good pinot noir. This was an 88-90 and a pass for me.
2015 Fait Main Sleeping Lady Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
This is a very solid wine. Lovely black and red fruit, blackberry, currant, raspberry with baking spices, violets, and maybe some mineral notes. It is not a huge wine, though it has nice acid and structure. My concern here is that the wine simply isn’t seamless or particularly smooth. It has many components, but they’re not yet integrated together in the manner I’d expect. It may integrate nicely into a really lovely wine, but right now it’s just not quite there for me. Still, a nice wine. 92 for me.
2012 Mascot by Bill Harlan
Sweet and seamless fruit profile on the darker side than the Sleeping Lady. This is cassis and sweet kirsch which are the star of the show. There is more going on with some spice rack and brownies. This is like fine wine’s version of warm comfort food. It is clearly intended to be more of an early drinker than the Fait Main, with a sweeter fruit profile, lower acidity, and less distinct tannic structure. Still, this is no Caymus. It’s got some action going on and is a pleasure to drink. Will it live as long as other big guns? No, I don’t think so. Is it a delight to drink now? Heck yes it is. I’d say somewhere around the 93 point range now. I think this is a drink over the next 5-10 years, but not really a long ager. In a decade, I might expect the Fait Main to outshine this, but right now this is pretty tasty stuff.