2017 Bella Oaks Vineyard Proprietary Red

Community Tasting Notes (16) Avg Score: 95.8 points

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  4/21/2024 - AllRed wrote: 94 Points

  A blend of 88% cabernet sauvignon, 11% cabernet franc and 1% petite verdot, again co-fermented. Deep inky opaque color. A captivating bouquet with black currant, graphite, bay leaf and plum, developing floral elements as it breathes in the glass. Full-bodied and plush, with medium tannins and flavors of cassis, mocha, blue fruit and sage. Long finish. Mineral, lavender and mocha elements with more air. Just a lovely wine, and among the three, the one I kept going back to. 94-95 pts.

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  4/15/2024 - MN Wine Junkie Likes this wine: 95 Points

  I was looking forward to tasting this wine (released in 2023 due to fires in 2020) because I had purchased a few bottles of this even though I was leery of 2017 vintage. I am pleased to report they made a very nice, elegant and approachable wine in 2017! This is drinking nice right now, and will likely improve for another 5-7 years, but I don't think it has the structure to be as long lived as other Bella Oaks or Heitz (Bella Oaks) wines. I would drink this over the next 10-20 years.
  
  The wine has a nice floral nose (actually, quite exquisite) with violets, fruit, potting soil and some anise and spice. The palate shows creamy dark and red fruit, some tobacco and graphite with a touch of sweet toasted oak. Tannins are silky and enough acidity to keep the fruit lively, but not sure if there is enough for considerable age. All in all, drinking great now, and as I plan on drinking my bottles in the next 10 to 15 years, I am not going to worry about it! This bottle is quite open now, and offers a very tasty and compelling wine for immediate consumption, but no hurry! Solid 95 and may slightly improve as tertiary flavors become more developed. However, I worry more about the acidity keeping the fruit going if aging more than 10-20 years. If you have multiple bottles, I would check in ever few years...that is my plan anyway!

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  4/15/2024 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 97 Points

  First of the 2 Prop Reds. On the nose and palate, potent notes of dark cherries, plums, and, to a lesser extent, berries, mixed ground and exotic spice (def note the CF), anise and back notes of dark earth and black tea and the lightest touch of red fruit (currants, perhaps?). Potent but already silky tannins, likewise powerful but well focused acidity, a light touch of present oak, no heat. VG++ complexity, excellent persistence and intensity. I think Martin had aerated this for an hour or so in advance of our visit, but this was absolutely singing, with already wonderful balance coupled with impressive vibrancy. A wine just as much for today as tomorrow, as GR says well. I’m not as vintage-centric as many of my CT friends (although after tasting quite a few ‘20s and ‘22s during this trip alongside ‘19s and ‘21s, I am more so than when I started), but this is a powerful rejoinder that this vintage was far from a washout. I’d have loved to contemplated this wine over time and watched it develop, to have paired it with food, blah, blah, blah, but that’s not what these tasting extravaganzas are all about, so you’ll have to take my note with all appropriate caveats. Or not. But please don’t be silly and avoid this wine because of the silly number, at least in this case, on the label. After the ‘21 of this and the ‘19 Harlan, right there with the VV LPV and Mag 7, ‘21 VHR, ‘19 A&B VHR, ‘08 Ovid as the wines of our trip (not counting the Morlet CdC). 97++

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  3/17/2024 - haldolugr wrote: 94 Points

  Needs time to open so please decant! This is a dark and broody wine! Delcious fruit (still holding back some) - black/blue driven. A wonderful and big bold red wine!

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  3/4/2024 - Robmcl920 Likes this wine:

  Brief impression without a score, as I tasted a small glass of this among many wines. I was quite impressed with how the Bella Oaks showed in ‘17. Compared to the other vintage I’ve had, the ‘18, the ‘17 was lighter in body and less complex, but managed to maintain a sense of freshness and finesse that is impressive for the year. The wine shows a combination of rich dark fruit with some savory characteristics, not at all a fruit bomb. One knock is that the oak is quite evident at this stage, but this was also tasted among a bunch of Nebbiolo that has no new oak, so it was destined to stick out like a sore thumb. I’m not enthused about the 14.9% alcohol but you don’t feel this in the wine. The only other problem with the wine is the price.

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