Benziger, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley

Benziger · California › Sonoma Valley › United States of America

Red · Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon
Sign in to rate Create your cellar
LWIN 1121551
Critics Average score from professional wine critics and publications.
89 /100
Reviews
25
professional

Vintages

No vintages

No vintage-specific entries have been added for this wine.

NV

Community Reviews

32
32
Reviews
89.4
Avg Score
92
Highest
Taster #9584 · Dec 4, 2016
91/100
Much better on the second night. I recommend a slow-ox for a few hours.
2004 vintage
Taster #9778 · Dec 13, 2014
This wine is holding up nicely. After aerating, A dark ruby color, fruity nose, smooth and silky berries and darker stuff, with a medium finish with minimal tannin showing.
2004 vintage
Taster #6379 · Apr 2, 2013
86/100
Potent nose of cherry cola or liquorice with a bit of wood, smoke and spice. Not well integrated on the palate. Bitter tannin not in balance. I expected a bit more elegance. These just arrived and noticeable sediment, so will try again once they have settled.
2004 vintage
Taster #6834 · Jan 20, 2013
86/100
Ok at best. Pretty much oak with very little dark fruit. I'm glad it is my last bottle of the 04 as it should be consumed by now.
2004 vintage
Taster #2494 · Oct 31, 2012
Easy drinker, reminds me of a merlot. Big fruit, small nose, light oak.
2004 vintage
Taster #6499 · Sep 21, 2012
92/100
As with my previous note from 2011 : Nice well balanced Cab. Balanced with dark chocolate and cherry on the nose, and pepper with a good finish on the palate. Very enjoyable, should age well in the upcoming years. The wine is still holding fine, the pepper is not quite as pronounced as the previous tasting. Integration is occurring, will be interesting to see what 2013 brings for the next bottle!
2004 vintage
Taster #9778 · Sep 11, 2012
Wow. This wine was really good. Complex nose and deep rich tastes with a nice finish with some tannin well balanced.
2004 vintage
Taster #8157 · Jul 1, 2012
88/100
Med depth with a nice acidicity. Good with food. Probably near its peak. The oak mentioned by previous tasting notes here seems to have muted at this point.
2004 vintage
Taster #1726 · Mar 3, 2012
91/100
Good cork. Classic cab bouquet of dark red fruit. Great in the mouth, good tannins but sweet, has several years left in it for sure.
2004 vintage
Taster #5794 · Jan 27, 2012
92/100
Dusty cocoa and currants, fig sauce, spice and herbs on the nose. Rich and developed but with brilliant dark fruit freshness at the core. Long velvety finish, this is drinking really well
2004 vintage
Taster #0372 · Dec 25, 2011
89/100
Good, well balanced Cab with currant and chocolate notes. Drink now.
2004 vintage
Taster #4870 · Oct 23, 2011
89/100
Stil a lot of tanins. Softened up after about an hour. Very pleasant with Prime Rib
2004 vintage
Taster #6834 · Oct 18, 2011
91/100
This is drinking very well. The wine has become very approachable with smooth tanins and nice dark fruit and some mocha/earthiness.
2004 vintage
Taster #0281 · Aug 28, 2011
92/100
Great bottle of wine. Excellent nose and mouth feel. Drinking perfectly right now. Go get you some!
2004 vintage
Taster #6499 · Jan 29, 2011
92/100
Nice well balanced Cab. Balanced with dark chocolate and cherry on the nose, and pepper with a good finish on the palate. Very enjoyable, should age well in the upcoming years.
2004 vintage
Taster #1399 · Oct 8, 2010
paired it with a Mediterranean chicken recipe (tomato, mushrooms, capers, (egg) ribbon pasta). Recommended by Paris @ Wine Sellar. Definite hints of black pepper, very deep purple. A bit tannic (I am ultra sensitive to tannins) and anxious to taste the other bottle after some time.
2004 vintage
Taster #0076 · May 21, 2010
91/100
Same as prior review. A nice bottle of wine. Drank at Ryan's #9 birthday dinner w Nana and Gaga at Biagii's, was a bit better than the '04 Quilceda Creek red wine it went against. Wish I had a bunch more Davis Family. Very nice fruit upfront, a bit of complexity, and a pleasant menthol/aromatic vapor on the smooth finish.
2004 vintage
Taster #0076 · Apr 25, 2010
91/100
Open and poured, very tight and closed. One hour later, it opened and delivered impressively. Excellent nose of fruit, good mid-palate, and strong finish. A very nice Cali cab. Consumed with '07 Justin Isosceles, a few preferred the Justin, a few preferred the Davis Family. Be sure to decant for an hour plus, then enjoy.
2004 vintage
Taster #7553 · Dec 6, 2009
Big all around. Nose of black fruit, burnt sugar, cedar. Palate: lots of ripe fruit, dark chocolate. Tannins harsh early on, but with Vinturi and time, nicely mellowed.
2004 vintage
Taster #7592 · Oct 6, 2009
91/100
Very solid Cabernet. Very concentrated and has some stuffing to balance the richness out. Fine grained tannins. Rich and dry. Nice toasty cab nose with a little smoke in the background. Not too far off from the 2004 O'shaughnessy and Ladera Howell Mountain at almost half the price.
2004 vintage
Taster #0837 · Sep 8, 2009
Light on the fruit, heavy on the oak. So much so that I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and call it flawed. However, given the other reviewer's comments, I'm not so sure. Nothing obvious on the nose to indicate "corked"
2004 vintage
Taster #5065 · May 1, 2009
86/100
Nose has aroma of strawberry jam.
2004 vintage
Taster #5238 · Apr 4, 2009
91/100
Decanted 45 minutes. Dark translucent color with nose of black cherry, vanilla, mint / menthol and some cocoa. At 1 hour, this has a nice texture but very forward.. cherries, vanillin, baking spices. Powerful enough to lay down for a while. This will be very nice in three to five years.
2004 vintage
Taster #3859 · Feb 14, 2009
89/100
Nose: Vanilla, cherry, bittersweet chocolate. Palate: Medium to light bodied, bright cherry, pomegranate, oak. Tannins completely smoothed out by the oak, acidity is nicely balanced. Nice length on the finish. Paired well with a peppercorn-covered steak we made, perfectly balanced out the spice of the peppercorn.
2004 vintage
Taster #9282 · Dec 22, 2008
87/100
Standard Calicab fruitcake, but a bit overextracted for my taste with some cherry cough syrup notes on the finish
2004 vintage
Taster #7592 · Sep 17, 2008
91/100
Much better than I was expecting. Good deep rich fruit with nice complimentary tannins. Nice nose of chocolate and dark berries. Should age well for several years. Bought several more on sale at $38/bottle.
2004 vintage
Taster #1254 · Jul 3, 2008
78/100
Wood... wood... and on the palate some nice strawberry-wood and raspberry-wood. I can see some people that love woody wines actually liking this, but it was undrinkable for me.
2004 vintage
Taster #2453 · Apr 27, 2008
90/100
Notes of cherry with light tannins and pleasant aftertaste. Beautiful dark color and silky texture. Can only get better.
2004 vintage
Taster #7078 · Feb 4, 2008
90/100
Fantastic bottle. Great legs, nice dark purple color with great spice.
2004 vintage
Taster #7259 · Jan 27, 2008
I brought this to dinner last night. As I was eating seafood, I left it to the others at the table to enjoy. They were all saying it was drinking great so I grabbed the last bit from the bottle. Very nice combination of violets, cherry and spice. Balanced acid. Nice in the mouth. I could easily understand why my guests were so complimentary.
2004 vintage
Taster #5824 · Nov 23, 2007
91/100
Red Carpet Wine Tasting : Another great nose; Strong; Ripe; Good depth; Softer than the Roth
2004 vintage
Taster #7097 · Mar 16, 2007
91/100
Opened about an hour before dinner. Very light fruit nose. Nicely textured with a flavor of black cherry, oak, and tobacco. Every glass was smooth and soft. Great finish.
2004 vintage