I discovered Bevan based on what I heard about their Moaveni syrah which is a beautiful wine at a reasonable price. I started buying some of their top drawer cabs in 2015. They are typically priced for Napa cabs at $195, but I have no complains about their 2015s and 2016s, especially EE Tench and Vixen. Massive fruit with mellow tannins, beautifully balanced. Reminds me of the level extraction you get with an Alban syrah. Definitely in my wheelhouse. These wines got big scores (98-100) from WA. I don’t have access to any other reviewers who are current on Bevan, so I was concerned when WA reviewed some of the 2017s in barrel. They haven’t reviewed everything, but what they have covered is in the low 90s. Not the scores I’d expect for $200 wines. With the Wine Advocate, you never know whether the quality has fallen off or there’s just a new more conservative reviewer. Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts about the 2017s.
Well, 17 ain’t 16 or 18.
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Agree with Bruce. I do think that Jeb Dunnuck reviewed most of them and scored them higher. Those notes are on the Bevan website.
Mark, read this please. from Roy Piper , a Napa winemaker .
An excellent post. Thanks for the reference. If this was bordeaux, the prices of 2017s would be lower and/or there wouldn’t be any high end stuff on the market, but in Napa the assumption seems to be that a high price is justified year in and year out and vintage variation doesn’t exist. I’ve seen many newsletters talking about how tough a certain year was (like 2011), but in the the end, the winemaker always rises to the challenge and makes a great wine is spite of everything.
Below are the reviews from Jeb Dunnuck found on Bevan’s website. I purchased a 2017 allocation and have confidence that they will have the Bevan profile and be in line with some of the best from 2017. Now it’s up for debate where the 2017 vintage is as a whole for Napa but for a but producer, I trust Russell. I know he scrapped his 2017 merlot because of smoke taint and he didn’t want to sell any grapes/barrels to others if he wasn’t confident in them because he didn’t want his name associated with an inferior product. So I’m not sure how the 2017s as a whole will be but I think Bevan’s will be consistent with his winemaking style, which I personally love. Bevan’s 1st 100 point wine came in 2011, another tough vintage but tough for different reasons.
This is not a review of all of the Bevan portfolio but I hope this helps in your decision making.
Not listed below is some of Galloni’s remarks but he found the Sentinel Ridge to be among the best of Bevan’s in 2017. Cellar Tracker also has some good reviews worth reading about the 2017 Bevan barrel tastings. They may be worth a read for you as well.
2017 Red Wine, Ontogeny, Napa Valley
“While the 2017 Ontogeny Red Wine is the least expensive wine in the lineup, it comes from all the single vineyards (not all of which were declassified), and in 2017, it doesn’t give an inch with regard to quality. In fact, it might be my favorite barrel sample in the lineup. Awesome notes of blueberries, cranberries, blood orange, white flowers, and liquid violets all flow to a full-bodied 2017 that has purity, richness, balance, and length in spades. It’s another sexy, straight-up heavenly wine from Russell Bevan that’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face.” - Jeb Dunnuck (96-99)
2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Harbison Vineyard, Oakville
“The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Harbison Vineyard comes from a site that sits just to the north of Screaming Eagle. It offers a more powerful yet still elegant style in its truffle-laced dark fruits, meat, earth, and iron notes. It’s more rounded and opulent on the palate, with a downright sexy texture, yet it certainly doesn’t lack for richness or depth. As with most 2017s, I suspect it’s going to hit the ground running yet age remarkably well.” - Jeb Dunnuck (94-96)
2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Saunders Vineyard, Oakville
“The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Saunders Vineyard is slightly earthier and more mineral-driven, with serious notes of blackcurrants, roasted coffee, graphite, and scorched earth all right up in your face. Full-bodied, powerful, and stacked on the palate, with a fabulous mid-palate, it’s another seriously good 2017 from this estate that’s going to check in near the top of the vintage.” - Jeb Dunnuck (96-98)
2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Wildfoote Vixen, Stags Leap District
“I loved the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Wildfoote Vineyard. This beauty has a huge nose of blue fruits, flowers, peach pit, and violets. It’s full-bodied, has a forward, sexy profile, and no hard edges, as well as more mid-palate depth than most in the vintage. It’s a beautiful, sexy example of this cuvée that’s going to drink nicely right out of the gate.” - Jeb Dunnuck (95-97)
2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sentinel Ridge Vineyard, Howell Mountain
“The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Sentinel Ridge is completely different, with a more seamless, elegant, pure style. Fabulous red and blue fruits, flowers, and incense notes all emerge from the glass, and it has terrific acidity, remarkable purity of fruit, no hard edges, and a great finish. This cuvée shines for its purity and elegance in 2017, yet still has terrific mid-palate depth.” - Jeb Dunnuck (95-97)
I’ve tasted the 2017 EE, Ontogeny, Wildfoote, Sage Canyon and Tench. The Wildfoote was the best early drinker. While they’re not the 2013s or 2016s, they’re no slouches either. Buy with confidence. If you like his wines, you will like his ‘17s.
Probably will only buy the Ontegeny as normal. Someone posted a review on it here (maybe Mike Grammar?) and said it was really strong this year.