External search
Google (images)
Wine Advocate
Wine Spectator
Burghound
Wine-Searcher
Vintages
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2004
N.V.
From this producer
Show all wines
All tasting notes
|
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 95 pts. and median of 95 pts. in 4 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by sirpat00 on 8/4/2022 & rated 95 points: Small Tusk tasting with the proprietor (Napa Grill (Zurich)): Small Tusk tasting with co-founder Tim Martin. As Tim explained, they kept this vintage about 3 months longer in barrel than usual to add structure and used reserve wine. That really worked out well in my view.
Tasting note:
A cooler fruit profile, with a more earthy aroma profile, adding leather and a bit of tobacco to the otherwise minty (spearmint) and herbal layers. The fruit was more red in nature and you’ll also find some sweet spices and vanilla. In view of the vintage, there was surprising depth and structure. Not as layered or complex as the 2012, but no doubt one of the best 2017s from Napa to date for me. (1525 views) | | | Tasted by WineBurrowingWombat on 5/29/2021: Nose: [58°-64°] Black fruits, deep damp black earth or wet mulch, crushed dark rocks, softly spiced dry tree bark, new oak/something like tobacco leaves (but seems to fade as it comes to a higher temp) and a pleasant bitterness of embers.
Palate: [58°-60°] Slightly high toned oak and red fruits, a bit of leafiness, some twigs and a bit of tobacco leaves. [62°-64°] Fruits turn a bit darker with deep earth followed by steeped black tea, spiced oak, and this pleasant strike of dark minerals that builds on the midpalate and gets drawn all the way to the finish (as if with a 6B+ pencil). Finishes with all flavors intact of earth, dark minerals, firm spice, almost rotted damp oak (in good way) and just a touch of the dark fruits.
Attributes: Dark ruby. Dry with medium-plus amounts of fine, grainy tannin. Medium-plus body with well integrated medium to medium-plus acidity. Good finish of at least 20-22 seconds.
Thoughts: I do not know how to go about this.. this is one of those things where it makes you go, "damn.. what happened??" Young, sure. Maybe the vintage? I don't get smoke or anything so I am not sure there. But comparing to the '16, this almost seems out of place. There's so little similarity to its older bottling. This is a bit brighter but tends to tone it down with a higher temp, whereas the '16 held its flavors strong throughout the entire tasting. Decanting didn't seem to do have major difference from the first glass to the last and the flavors only kinda remind me of the older bottling. Not gonna lie, felt like I got robbed here. There's no rush to open this, give it at least 3-4 years before trying.
Other notes: Bordeaux glass. Poured one glass, empty rest of bottle into a decanter at cellar temp ~55° for the duration of consumption of approximately 6 hours. Preferred serving temp ~64°+ (flavors were deeper and less bright). (2990 views) | | | Tasted by Cristal2000 on 3/28/2021 & rated 93 points: Just arrived, but wanted to see what I'm working with here in this difficult vintage. Decanted 5 hours before consumption. Must say, this is the least interesting Tusk I've had. It's young, so hopefully it'll come around.
Starts with a lot of alcohol on the nose, but also shows nice floral, blackberry and earthy aromas. The palate is pretty indicative of the vintage - higher toned red berry, with above average acidity and not nearly the depth or well rounded flavor profile of recent vintages. The texture is excellent and there's no hint of smoke taint or other issues that plagued the vintage, but generally it is just unremarkable for the price point. Gets pretty sharp on a medium length finish. (3601 views) |
| Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
|
