2014 Napa Opinions

Wondering what the board opinions are regarding the 2014 Napa vintage as compared to 2012 and 2013. Are you stocking up on 12/13 or holding extra cash for 14?

It’s definitely the vintage of the year, at least for my tastes.

Went deep on 2012 because many of the brands we’re regular buyers of made some outstanding bottles that were open from release. Picked up some 2013 here and there on some of the same brands, but not as many bottles of each since it will take longer to age and I have plenty of Cab back to 1993 already. Not sure it’s necessary to go deep on 2014, and might only grab one or two bottles of each of the wines we like. Pretty soon we’re gonna run out of these “Vintage of the Century” vintages, or we’ll all go broke.

WORD !

Bigger question is what will happen to pricing. I gather many dropped off the more expensive mailers and therefore potentially there is some inventory building up, although in small quantities. If Harlan are not selling their 12 and 13 at 650, do they move to 500 for 2014? Buying direct has lost its advantage in many cases because we can for the most part back-fill at lower prices.

They have an extra year (2015) to sell the 2014. 2015 yields wer 25% of normal so very limited supply giving 2014 more time to sell out.

So they can market the 2015 as “RARE!!!” instead of another “Vintage of the Century”, eh?

Expext prices on 2015s to spike to make up for the low yields. If so, I may drop out altogether.

I am actually of the opinion that a lot of us have gone so deep on the great 2012’s and 13’s that the average 2014’s may be sitting around long enough to make producers think twice on their 15’ due to backlogged 2014 inventory. Unless parker scores the 15’s with 99 and 100’s

So if 15 is small does that mean good ?

Fruit quality was down from what I saw. Berries were smaller, more raisins in bunches, smaller bunches. The wines themselves have been good so far but it’s still early.

I heard stories of a difficult 2014 with lots of stuck fermentations and long sleepless nights. I’d bet that finished wines will vary greatly depending on who was paying attention in the cellar and who wasn’t. I guess we’ll see if that is the case and if there is a lot of variation when scores come out.

We just finished blending our 2014 cabs (will bottle them in August) so here are some thoughts…

I have heard some of what Brian referenced - we did not have any issues with ferments in 2014. Our 2014’s are a bit rounder in the mid-mouth than 2013 and less grippy. 2013 cabs (not just ours) are BIG - Big fruit, Big structure, Big tannins - they are delicious and show great promise for longevity. We poured our 13’s over the weekend and they were awesome on day two with airtime.

Right now I would say our 2014’s are more like a combo of 12 and 13 - we are very happy with what we have in barrel.

We brought in some good looking (and tasting) fruit in 2015 - sadly just not a lot of it. Our yields were down about 40% for the 2015 vintage.

As long as you keep making Rutherford Reserve with GIII fruit, I’ll be buying it.

Sounds like the drinking order will be 2012 first, 2014 second, then 2013 last since the vintage has so much structure.

I will echo most of what Karen said.

Our final 2014 blends are still in barrel for another few months but they are very solid wines. Our Reserve is just as big, structured and delicious as our 2013 is but our Estate is a little more refined than its 2013 version. We think it will be more approachable earlier in its life.

As far as 2015 goes, we were down more on our Syrah than on Cab and Merlot but overall we were down as much as everyone else (~30%). While there is definitely less, the quality is still very high. What we have blended so far seems to be more fruit forward at this stage than the prior 3 vintages and the tannins are much softer. These will still be in barrel for 12+ months so there is still some tannin to gain from barrels.

Overall, two more great vintages to come in the future. As far as buying goes, if you just want trophies and high scores (and long aging) then stick with 2013, you won’t be disappointed. If you like to support good producers and you enjoy the wines they make then you will be more than pleased with what is coming down the pipeline in the future (and will probably be able to enjoy it while you wait for the 2013s to mature0.

Maybe this is a topic for another thread and it’s not exactly a reply to your post. My experience with California Cabs is that the better the vintage, the close in quality a winery’s second bottling is to it’s flagship (Reserve, Special Selection, etc).

Dennis - that drinking order sounds about right… No worries on the future of Rutherford Reserve - one of my favorities. 2013 cabs will be released on April 4th

Just my 2 cents, but everything I’m seeing here is in line with the conversations we had with several highly respected Napa winemakers on our visit last Spring.

While none of the 2014s had gone to bottle yet, their overall opinion was that it would slot in between the racy opulence of the 2012s and the enormous structure of the 2013s. And those are gross over-generalizations; 2014 as many know was the third year in a row featuring drought characteristics and overall great growing conditions. So if you liked 2012, odds are you are really going to like 2014. And while it may not produce the skyscrapers that were wrought in 2013, sounds like it’s going to be no slouch.

I certainly plan to generally buy from the same core producers/winemakers (and same/similar quantities) in 2014 that I bought in 2012 and 2013.

The '14s I have tasted so far look really good. Are they equal to the '12 or '13s, no. In my humble opinion this would be viewed as a good to very good vintage. It may turn out to be alot like 2003?
I just hope Mr. Parker doesn’t loose his marbles…again and start handing out 100 and 99 point scores like a pez dispenser. Prices are going to turn, it’s just a matter of when the majority of us toolboxes stop paying 150++ for a good napa cab.

2003 would be absolutely fine with me! I consider that the single most under rated vintage of this century. A little less fruit than '01, but less structure too so '03 has been drinking well the last several years while '01 is just starting to come around.

After a noticeable lack of early reviews, not crazy hype from certain critics, I think the 2014s will surprise a lot of people. At this years PNV I tasted about 100ish Cab and Bdx blends from most of the major appellations in Napa. I also talked with a many guests who were very surprised by the 2014s. I think that a lot of folks had not expected much after the 2012 & 2013 vintage. The wines are rich and to me have a broader mid palate that both 2012 and 2013. They are not as structured as the '13 or as open as the '12s but are really nice. Most will have some great charm out of the bottle but should reward at least 5 to 10 years in the cellar. The vintage actually reminds me more both the '96 and '06 vintage (06 more than 96).

The vintage seems to be a bit smaller than the 12 or 13 and the 15 seems very small. I don’t think any wineries will need to lower prices as the smaller vintages will sell fast enough and allow for any sell through of older vintages.