Part of a dinner with my wine group. We had the 2013 Paul Hobbs Beckstoffer Dr. Crane, the 2012 Realm Beckstoffer To Kalon, and the 2015 Lewellilng Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Wight. The Hobbs and the Realm were both decanted. The Hobbs was far and away my favorite and in giving it 96 points, I'm being conservative. A beautiful nose that you could smell from yards away when I opened the bottle. Great balance in a not quite full bodied wine. Black fruit some mineralogy and a long finish. At this point I don't think it has developed any tertiary spice notes as the fruit is still going strong.
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In a battle of 2013s, I preferred this to Schrader To Kalon and Peter Michael Au Paradis, but liked Dunn Trailer best of all. I think the Hobbs is still very much on the upswing and that owners will likely enjoy it even more in 5-10 years. Can't wait for some upcoming aged Hobbs tastings!
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This is very good but certainly not perfect at this stage in it's maturity. Polished perfumed nose leads to intense black fruits on the palate. This has medium plus weight. A big underlying structure with high acidity giving a slightly tart finish. There are damsons, pepper, mulled spices here. Long and already yielding some complexity. Very young, leave for 5 years then drink over the following 30 years.
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At the Hobbs wine tasting in NYC. The 2012 Dr Crane is one of my favorite wines and unfortunately the 2013 does not measure up. it all comes down to the finish and after an enjoyable palate of dark berries, coffee, plums and leather out comes a streak of cranberry which just does not belong and it does not go away and takes some of the enjoyment out of the experience. Then I realized I have 4 in my cellar and I will leave them for a few years to hopefully soften up.
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12/1/2023 - Melli wrote: 100 Points
Top scoring at 2013 Cabernet retrospective featuring 12 big name wines
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11/18/2023 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 96 Points
Part of a dinner with my wine group. We had the 2013 Paul Hobbs Beckstoffer Dr. Crane, the 2012 Realm Beckstoffer To Kalon, and the 2015 Lewellilng Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Wight. The Hobbs and the Realm were both decanted. The Hobbs was far and away my favorite and in giving it 96 points, I'm being conservative. A beautiful nose that you could smell from yards away when I opened the bottle. Great balance in a not quite full bodied wine. Black fruit some mineralogy and a long finish. At this point I don't think it has developed any tertiary spice notes as the fruit is still going strong.
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10/3/2022 - Montesquieu Likes this wine: 96 Points
In a battle of 2013s, I preferred this to Schrader To Kalon and Peter Michael Au Paradis, but liked Dunn Trailer best of all. I think the Hobbs is still very much on the upswing and that owners will likely enjoy it even more in 5-10 years. Can't wait for some upcoming aged Hobbs tastings!
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9/19/2022 - Philip67 Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is very good but certainly not perfect at this stage in it's maturity. Polished perfumed nose leads to intense black fruits on the palate. This has medium plus weight. A big underlying structure with high acidity giving a slightly tart finish. There are damsons, pepper, mulled spices here. Long and already yielding some complexity. Very young, leave for 5 years then drink over the following 30 years.
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11/4/2021 - markcic wrote: 90 Points
At the Hobbs wine tasting in NYC. The 2012 Dr Crane is one of my favorite wines and unfortunately the 2013 does not measure up. it all comes down to the finish and after an enjoyable palate of dark berries, coffee, plums and leather out comes a streak of cranberry which just does not belong and it does not go away and takes some of the enjoyment out of the experience. Then I realized I have 4 in my cellar and I will leave them for a few years to hopefully soften up.
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