For folks in the know, what is the general intel on the 2015 vintage? Is there any prior vintage you feel it is comparable to?
Best vintage ever. somewhere above 2013, 2014 but mixed with a twist of 2012 yet a nice bit of 2010 in it.
Draconian reduction of production.
Lower alcohols and higher acids than the previous few years, despite an earlier than normal harvest. A few rainstorms evened things out and there was one day where we got several hours of hail but I can’t remember what our picking situation was, I think it was pretty late.
And yes, ludicrously low yields.
Here’s WS vintage report of 2015…
And if you want to compare it with previous vintages as well…
Yeah, and some wines will be open right away, some will be in a dumb phase and shutdown, and some will be age-worthy.
Sort of joking, but definitely some truth. But low yields and good quality is what I hear/read/see.
Tasted through our line-up of 2015 cabs today as we were blending for our auction lot at Premiere Napa Valley. I haven’t tasted other 2015’s but I love what we have in barrel. Bigger profile than 2014 but not as muscular as 2013 was early on. Yields were down significantly in 2015 but not quality.
Wouldn’t you end up with lower alcohol and higher acids because of an earlier harvest, not despite it?
It was an earlier harvest because of drought and heat, not because of earlier picking decisions. I was trying to think of a good way to phrase it, you caught the confusion I had when typing the post lol
so, allocations could shrink.
the massive drop in volumes is consistent with what two napa producers told me, too.
So, given the laws of supply and demand (which don’t necesarily hold true) does that mean high prices for 2015?
Given that the quality is more or less constant, yes. And the distribution system will price accordingly to the restaurant and retail levels.
Existing supply gluts of direct substitutes (good vintaged young napa) might make it hard for the secondary market to push prices beyond current levels so beware of speculation- for the time being it’s full of risk if you do not pick extremely carefully. There are so many substitutes to 2015 Napa right now.