Eating Crow: Revisiting 2017 Napa Reds

Anyone that works in a field for a significant amount of time can fall into the trap of making or trusting false assumptions, never more so in the hyperbole-fueled world of wine. Stop me if you have heard this before… Merlot is dead. Sulfites cause hangovers, [pick your reviewer] is paid off, and nobody will ever trust a screw cap. We are quick to make judgements, and even quicker to believe others.

And now we get to my giant serving of crow that I’m going to have to eat: 2017 was not, in fact, a bad year for Napa reds. I didn’t make the pronouncement, but boy did I jump on the bandwagon. I remember not taking allocations of wines like Shafer Hillside and Phelps Insignia. I remember telling clients to wait for the 2018’s. Time proved me wrong… in hindsight, not my best call. 

In the past year, I have had the opportunity to try close to a dozen significant 2017 reds from Napa, and they are all drinking excellently. This week I had the chance to taste Taub Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III 2017 alongside a 2019 Napa Cab from a more notable winery with a huge score and price to match, and not only did the Taub hold its own, I preferred it. It comes out of the glass swinging, with everything that I love from valley-floor Napa. Eucalyptus, mint, dried herbs and buckets of dark fruit. Smooth as silk, no sharp elbows at all, and the finish was great (if not super long). Frankly, the slightly shorter finish was the only fault I could come up with, and yes… it’s Beckstoffer fruit, but Beckstoffer fruit at a much lower price than most. It’s kind of funny to read the initial Wine Spectator review now. “…lacks refinement.”? How about now it “epitomizes refinement.”

Anyway, the point was to not jump to early conclusions. 2017 specifically offers some absolute gems right in their drinking window, and the prices reward smart shoppers.