Weekly Tasting Report (Oct 12-18): Squeezing Greatness from 2017 Brunellos; Napa and Australia Rise

Lots of recently released Australian reds, 2017 Brunello di Montalcinos and Napa Valley wines feature in this report covering the 500-plus wines we rated over the past week. Some of the wines were exceptional, warranting a few exclamation marks in the tasting notes, but others were a little questionable. Read on to find out who our winners and losers were.

The uncertainty mainly comes from the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino wines James tasted over the last 10 days. The hot and dry vintage produced some extremely big and tannic wines, something he doesn’t consider a great quality for the legendary pure sangiovese appellation of Tuscany. Hot and ripe vintages of the recent past, such as 2012 and 2013, were very attractive when young, with round and soft tannins that accentuated the ripe and delicious form. But many of the 2017s he tasted were chewy and slightly aggressive, meaning they need more time in the bottle to come together. And many are also very full-bodied with a dense mouthfeel. They are a world away from the sleek, pure, structured and sophisticated 2016 Brunello Riservas he is also tasting.

He spoke to a few Brunello makers and discovered that the 2017 drought reduced grape yields, with most vineyards suffering hydric stress, where the vines’ growth was blocked during some of the growing season. The result was small berries and thick skins as well as shriveled grapes. The key was to discard the inferior grapes and softly ferment and macerate the rest during the winemaking process, as well as not to overdo the new wood. Unfortunately, some failed and made blockbuster, monolithic 2017 Brunellos.

Although all of this is worrying to Brunello lovers, there are a number of outstanding Brunellos from 2017 out there. They have freshness and balance and are not overdone. They are the result of careful work in the vineyards as well as precise winemaking in the cellar. It also helped if producers had high-altitude and/or north-facing vineyards. Regardless, it took a lot of work to make a top wine in 2017.

One Brunello not to miss in this report is Le Chiuse Brunello di Montalcino Diecianni Riserva 2012. It’s a late-release Brunello from the hot 2012 vintage and highlights how well such a wine can age after a decade. Some of the top 2017s should do the same, but not many.

As James already wrote, the 2016 vintage is the opposite. It was difficult not to make something truly outstanding in Montalcino, just as in 2015. And the Brunello Riservas are the last release of this special vintage of 2016. The wines go on the market in January 2022.

READ MORE BRUNELLO'S GREATEST VINTAGES EVER: 2016 AND 2015

We also have dozens of Napa wines in this report, mostly chardonnays and cabernets. Most of the wines are from the 2018 vintage, which is the first of a duo of outstanding vintages for the region, followed by the excellent and balanced 2019. The 2018s are wonderfully intense and harmonious wines, both white and red, while the 2019s have a little more fruit and a more typically ripe Napa character.

Check out some of the top wines below, such as the Hudson Chardonnay Napa Valley Carneros Seashell 2019, which has a fascinating nose with notes of lemon, praline, salted caramel and crushed shells, and the Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley St. Helena 2019, which is compact with firm tannins and a broad, muscular palate.

And Contributing Editor Nick Stock continued his tastings of dozens of South Australian wines, which are proving worthy of great acclaim. Of the 38 wines rated 96 points or above in this report, 24 came from South Australia. His top bottles included the Hentley Farm Shiraz Barossa Valley E Block 2019, which he described as “concentrated and intense, dense and layered with an exotic edge of peach and mango,” and the Hewitson Barossa Valley 1853 Barrel 2019, a 50/50 blend of Monopole and Old Garden that had a “savory, earthy thread.”

Also of note were four rieslings from Clare Valley – two from Jim Barry, one from Pikes and one from Naked Run. The 2021s from Jim Barry and Pikes showed great freshness while the 2017 from Naked Run showed the great concentration, beautiful detail and fine acidity of that year.

Check out all the above as well as the other Australian names that scored well last week, including John Duval Wines, Paulett, Shut The Gate, Gralyn Estate and Kalleske, in the list of tasting notes below, available to Premium Members.

– James Durston, Senior Editor

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.