Mostly Napa Valley 2017s (with 15/16/18 in the mix): Larger merchant tasting. Brief impressions. Slightly okay on the nose and palate, spearmint and wet stones as dominating aromas on the nose and palate. Not overly complex and quite short. Missing a bit of concentration. Doesn’t have the precision and cleanliness of the Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc drunk next to it. Pleasant but without exceptionalism.
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Putzi's Napa 2017 new arrival tasting: A new Napa arrival tasting hosted by a wine merchant. A total of 30 wines mostly from 2017 (with a few 2018 whites and new releases from 2016 and 2015 in the mix) were presented in various price brackets ($40 to $200+). For 2017 my takeaways were 1) 2017 is already approachable and offers immediate drinking pleasure. But 2) the wines also came across lighter and less layered. 2017 doesn’t seem to have the refinement of 2016, the depth of 2014 or the muscular concentration of 2015. For many, it seems, finding a spot in the sun will be hard with 5 outstanding vintages before and likely 2 more (at least) right behind. There were notable exceptions of course. Wine of the night was Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill 2017 (95) and just whisker behind Viader 2017 (95). A very notable mention deserves the Detert East Block Cabernet Franc 2017 for its unique character (94).
Tasting note: Green gooseberry just a few lychee notes in the mix. Faintly mineral and slightly smoky - but mostly fruit-forward in character. Very high acidity and probably best to age in bottle a bit. Well structured otherwise but without any compelling complexity. I preferred the Spottswoode 2018 over this in the line-up.
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6/29/2020 - Cailles wrote: 88 Points
Mostly Napa Valley 2017s (with 15/16/18 in the mix): Larger merchant tasting. Brief impressions. Slightly okay on the nose and palate, spearmint and wet stones as dominating aromas on the nose and palate. Not overly complex and quite short. Missing a bit of concentration. Doesn’t have the precision and cleanliness of the Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc drunk next to it. Pleasant but without exceptionalism.
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5/13/2020 - sirpat00 wrote: 91 Points
Putzi's Napa 2017 new arrival tasting: A new Napa arrival tasting hosted by a wine merchant. A total of 30 wines mostly from 2017 (with a few 2018 whites and new releases from 2016 and 2015 in the mix) were presented in various price brackets ($40 to $200+). For 2017 my takeaways were 1) 2017 is already approachable and offers immediate drinking pleasure. But 2) the wines also came across lighter and less layered. 2017 doesn’t seem to have the refinement of 2016, the depth of 2014 or the muscular concentration of 2015. For many, it seems, finding a spot in the sun will be hard with 5 outstanding vintages before and likely 2 more (at least) right behind. There were notable exceptions of course. Wine of the night was Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill 2017 (95) and just whisker behind Viader 2017 (95). A very notable mention deserves the Detert East Block Cabernet Franc 2017 for its unique character (94).
Tasting note:
Green gooseberry just a few lychee notes in the mix. Faintly mineral and slightly smoky - but mostly fruit-forward in character. Very high acidity and probably best to age in bottle a bit. Well structured otherwise but without any compelling complexity. I preferred the Spottswoode 2018 over this in the line-up.
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