Introduction

Arvi 2017 in the bottle tasting at the Dolder Grand in Zurich. Main conclusions: 1) Less concentration and complexity than 2015 and 2016; 2) generally soft tannins and light structures; 3) often well approachable already. Not a vintage to store for future generations, but one where you probably won't have to wait for a decade or more to pop a bottle and is likely to offer drinking pleasure early on. Of the 20 wines tasted, my top picks would be Smith-Haut-Lafitte, Clinet, Chevalier Blanc, Pichon Lalande (all 96) followed by Leoville Barton, de Fargues and Valandrau (all 95).

Going back to similar tastings with 2015, 2016 and 2018 in the barrel was revealing. On average, I scored 2017 93.8 vs 95.4 for 2016, ~94.5 for 2015 and ~95 for 2018 when comparing the same set of wines.

The few exceptions that are worth highlighting would be Smith-Haut-Lafitte which in my view was on par with 2015, 2016 and 2018 and hence showing incredible consistency in performance. The same is true for Pichon Lalande (excluding 2015 which I haven't tasted yet), Leoville Barton. Clinet and Leoville Poyferré scored even higher than the 2016 which were two of the very few disappointments for me in 2016.