Yellow citrus core. Lemon curd and zest, lemon olive oil, lightly buttered popcorn, vanilla, glycol, and subtle grass. Medium-to full in weight; a nice drive with a balanced push of flavors evenly distributed across the palate. Viscous, with a mouth-coating attack. A little booze lingered, but otherwise a nice delivery of energetic flavors. Some acidity did well to frame out the core and provide lift.

Another 6-12 months in bottle might be prudent to help blow off a tad bit of hooch on the back end and to further integrate the seamlessness of flavors. Drinking pretty darn well right now though. This improved with about an hour of air. 93-94+ points with upside after some short term cellaring.

PnP, with purple/black core fruit. Streaks of dark red/black raspberry and bruised strawberry added elevated complexity, along with notes of fresh vanilla bean, blackberry, asphalt, and some dried black currant.

Solid depth of flavor, with a youthful grip and acidic structure that is in need of some short term cellaring. A very powerful and energetic version of Ontogeny. Ideally, something to lay down for another year or so to ward off a bit of the alcohol and loosen some of the pucker factor on the back end. Air is a friend to this wine. If you “have” to pop the cork now, give it a solid decant for an hour to better stretch it out. Otherwise, it is a worthy successor to past Ontogenys.

A little less concentrated than the other SVDs and blends - the super intense Wildfoote, or the Calixtro, or Tench blends (EE/Sugarloaf), but really compelling nonetheless as a stand-alone. QPR on this wine is very good; drinks well above its C-Note price tag.

94-95+ points for now, with upside after some time in bottle.

Much in the same lane as its 2015 brother, this 2016 offered similar red and black currant, fruitcake, and spice notes that were undeniably Calixtro. Perhaps a bit deeper, broader, and a little more powerful than the 2015, this version kicked it up a notch with polished red raspberry liqueur, black cherry, dark dried cranberry, and incense flavors as wel.

Intense but polished, with notable purity of fruit (more of a red fruit profile). A lot of energy and a little bit of heat; though this is slightly wound up, it’s still kicking out some pretty bad ass flavors despite it being a PnP. A higher presence of acid as well. This is one for the cellar. Give it 2-3 years and enjoy at least a decade of vivacious longevity after that. Revisit in 2021.

96-96+ points. Great stuffing here.

This sample was from a day-old opened bottle of EE, which was much more even-keeled and less alcohol ridden than on PnP. Signs of good things to come from this wine after some short term cellaring. Deeper red berry fruit flavors and spice were at the forefront of delivery with this Day 2 bottle. My previous note from the other day still applies otherwise.

From a bottle opened nearly 24 hours. Even more dark chocolate chunk, dark coffee grounds/espresso, blackberry mocha, scorched earth, tar, asphalt, and a hit of DARK red raspberry. An incredible wine. My previous notes apply otherwise.

Day 2 for this bottle. More exposure to air really brought out a deepening of the flavors and allowed for some of the fatty booze to blow off. Richer and deeper, with sappy red and black raspberry, extracted black cherry, cassis, dehydrated strawberry, and spice. I bumped this up a point. Promising and powerful juice with great acid and structure. Previous note applies otherwise.

Barrel sample. Beautiful and polished, especially considering it was right out of barrel, with a finesse and seductiveness that harkens back to the 2012 Wildfoote. The 2016 Wildfoote is currently the one that is behaving like a powerful barrel sample; this 2017 acted like it had been in bottle for a couple of years.

Ultra pure and silky, with purple and black core fruit seamlessly gliding across the palate. Blackberry, black currant, deep and ripe purple plum, blueberry, and violet/floral notes saturated the mouth. Wonderfully balanced concentration and tempered intensity. This is a wine I anticipate being beautifully accessible upon release. My personal favorite of the 2017s sampled. 97-98+ points.

From barrel. A new site from which Bevan is pulling fruit, the Nine Suns/Houyi vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon launches on to the palate with black and red raspberry, cassis, and spice flavors.

Much more red-fruit dominated (compared to the Wildfoote, for example), indicative of what I’m familiar with this site and from other what other producers have crafted with Houyi fruit. Overtly displaying energetic and higher-register tones at the moment, this is a wine that highlights acid and structure to compliment its healthy doses of vivacious mountain fruit.

A lot of tension to sort out here. Once in bottle, I imagine it’ll take a few years to settle into itself. No detectable smoke taint. All the stuffing appears intact for the makings of a compelling wine. 94-95+ points.

Barrel sample (from Sylvain). Truly a beguiling wine, swirling with an array of palate-popping flavors, the 2017 Saunders kicks out notes of deep purple plum, red raspberry, coffee grounds, toasted brioche, and heavy spice. Gobs of purple and dark red fruit, but still seeing a heavy influence from the barrel at the moment. I associated this more with Pritchard Hill (akin to the Nine Suns) with its energy and red fruit streaks, and less with Oakville - though Saunders is indeed at elevation and shows a mountain fruit profile in some regards.

Backward and unresolved, this will ultimately be a very interesting one to follow once the final wine is crafted. Mysteriously enticing flavors; I don’t know exactly where it’s going, but I want more. 95+ points.

Barrel sample. The Sage Canyon “lot 27” Cabernet Sauvignon sample was packed with gorgeous red and purple plum, baking spices, and black and red raspberry flavors that completely coated the palate with an unctuous mouthfeel; a textural dream, already showing a seamlessness akin to the 2017 Wildfoote. This may have the ability to perform well shortly after it reaches bottle. Promising stuff.

95-96++ points

Barrel sample. It really is a shame that this juice won’t make its way into a single wine, as it is a sheer phenom as a stand alone. Instead, it will be parsed-out for blending in Bevan’s other wines. But this is still great news, as those percentages (<7%) will most definitely enhance those lucky recipients whose final blends will undoubtedly be elevated as a result of this precious juice.

On its own, this sample displayed HUGE BLACK flavors of wild blackberry and dark, ripe purple core fruit. Asphalt, tar, camphor, blueberry, thick cut salami, prime rib, and dark spice (clove, anise, roasted cumin seed). If this was going into a solo wine on its own, it’d be well on its way to being a perfect wine. One of the most captivating barrel samples I’ve ever had.

One of the few Pinots on the entire planet that could successfully follow a lineup of Bevan’s Cabs and red blends, the massively endowed 2016 Rita’s Crown drinks (or rather, eats) like a Cabernet barrel sample that birthed a Lou Ferrigno Pinot baby and then injected it with a steroidal dose of warm cherry pie doused with sugar and spice and everything nice...well... “nice” as in the way your older brother beats you up because he loves you.

Huge black cherry and wild blackberry fruit, with a fat slap of cinnamon stick and glycerin. Some loam and earth notes brought this monster back into the Pinot world a little more. Fruit and spice dominate at the moment. Give this a year or two to off-cycle the roids and deflate a little. It’s quite the bruiser in its current state. Quite tasty, but definitely for those who prefer to chew their wine.