2016 Futo Oakville

Community Tasting Notes (8) Avg Score: 94.6 points

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  6/1/2023 - csimm wrote: 99 Points

  2016 Napa Cults Blind - and a few Champs and such for fun: An awesome combination of fresh and brooding. I love the interplay of flavors here, with blackberries and purple plums dancing with the black minerality and meaty saline notes. I waffled between thinking this was MacDonald or Futo. The temperature service (a bit cooler than the others) did everything to elevate this wine as well. A dark salami note really added interest on the back end. Extraordinary scaffolding. This and the M7 were tied for my first place holders.

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  5/17/2023 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine:

  This was a 2016 vintage blind of: Abreu Thorevilos, Colgin IX, MacDonald, Scarecrow, Bond St. Eden, Eisele, Futo Oakville, Colgin Tychson and Vice Versa M7. Each wine had a decant of approximately five hours before the first sip, except for MacDonald, which had around three, and the Futo, which I believe was PnP. There were nine tasters, including CSIMM1161, wine proprietors and a prominent winemaker.
  
  I’d really love to post notes on all these wines, but unfortunately time is scarce, and I don’t think I would be able to get to it anytime soon. I am sure CSIMM will post a ton on each, so that should fill the gap. Instead, I am going to give the broad strokes here.
  
  The first thing to note is all these wines could have used more air, especially the MacDonald. We shorted it in the tasting, and I think there was an impact on how it showed. The other thing that could have impacted how the wines showed is bottle shock. Most of these bottles were packed onto an airplane a couple days prior. While I didn’t note any overtly off bottles, there is no doubt it could have played a role.
  
  I know a lot of folks that hate blinds. It can really test your palate, and crowing a winner means the other great bottles must “lose”. If you haven’t done it before, it can also wear you down and things can blend, so it does take a methodology and consistency to do it well. That said, all these wines were spectacular.
  
  While we didn’t have the group rank order them all, we did ask for a top 3. The consensus was 1. Magnificent 7 2. Futo and 3. Scarecrow. There were certainly others than received votes in the top 3, but overall, it was uniform across the group. Those top three were easily 99-100 pt wines, and the others were not far behind. A few comments on each (in no particular order outside the top 3):
  
  1. Magnificent 7: almost universally the #1 wine in the tasting, this had all the elements of perfection. Suave and powerful, with super refined tannins, excellent purity, unreal depth, and a finish for days. Nothing harsh and pure class without any element out of balance.
  
  2. Futo: super focused wine with precision, this wrapped power and grace into a regal package. Showed dark chocolate and powerful fruit intensity backed up by impressive levels of freshness and acidity. Simply outstanding.
  
  3. Scarecrow: the most opulent, plush, and sexy wine of the bunch. While some of the other wines were trying to get all the pieces to fit together, this one was complete on every level. Beautifully integrated with supple tannins and wonderful energy and balance.
  
  4. Colgin IX: the only mountain/hillside wine of the bunch. This wine really progressed over the course of the tasting to the point where it was gaining on the leaders. Lovely red soil profile with deep mineral driven flavors, the mid palate began expanding over time and produced a complex, powerful yet refined wine with fantastic length.
  
  5. MacDonald: this was one of the wines that was a bit discombobulated, and I attribute that mostly to lack of decant time. It showed more spice and woodsy character than usual and was a little rough around the edges despite clearly having the class, pedigree, and overall intensity to be amongst the best wines in Napa.
  
  6. Colgin Tychson: this had a soft, supple entry with opulent fruit and gorgeous floral notes. The mid palate stayed tight throughout, and it never really blossomed into what I am sure will be an epic wine. I love this bottling, and this is going to be spectacular with a bit more time.
  
  7. Eisele: another wine here that needed more time to unfurl. This showed possibly the best complexity of the bunch, both on the nose and in the glass. It had all the hallmark savory character, but the fruit was wound up tight and there was a bit of oak obscuring things. I’ve had this when its blown my mind, just needs more air or more time.
  
  8. Abreu Thorevilos: the most disappointing wine for me in this tasting. I was expecting it to vie for top honors and it couldn’t get out of its own way. It was super unresolved and reductive, with oak and tannin obscuring most everything. This is a fabulous vineyard and winemaker, so I am sure it will come around, and part of me wants to attribute this showing to bottle shock.
  
  9. Bond St Eden: another wine that was within striking distance of the leaders. Rich, textured, beautiful and still grippy, it showed a ton of class with hallmark red earth notes and killer concentration and length.

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  4/21/2023 - tanduybui Likes this wine: 92 Points

  I am an Aussie wine drinker who can speak a bit of Bordelais. This is important to note as I would not say I have a huge experience of Napa wines.
  
  As is, this Futo is way overrated and seriously overpriced. Granted, we consumed this wine way too early and it will need another 5+ years to be approachable. Despite 3 hours of decanting, it remains a singular wine with little complexity or interest. Lovely texture and finesses, there are dried herbs with quite pure fruit consistent of dark plum and blackcurrant. Hints of spice and smokiness are there. Oak is dominating at the monent and with everything quite tightly wound, it can be quite astringent at times. It will get better no doubt but how much more, I don’t know.
  
  Drink from 2028 and 15+ years after wine.

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  1/30/2022 - P.A. Cross wrote:

  Tasted at the FUTO property. Certainly the biggest and most dense of the bottlings. Amazing power, with concentrated notes of coffee, flowers, and pure fruit, kirsch, and olives. A big wine without being cloying or heavy, the body and flavors are mouth coating and deep. Cascading flavors are layered and long, with freshness and lift! Incredible wine.

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  3/21/2021 - cdp1276 Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Open one hour prior. Would suggest longer and will see how this opens up. Very delicate style and well balanced with long tannins that linger. Cassis, tobacco and stewed fruits with wet slate and light spice.

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