I have tasted some 2020 California Wines with mixed results. Would love to see what is drinking fine and what is influenced by the fires. Here is what I tried and the only wine that is influenced so far is Sea Slopes by Fort Ross which I am a huge fan of but would avoid 2020. The Sea Slopes inspired this thread as the 2020 is terrible. Tensley on the other hand is amazing and the best effort I have sampled from them.
What are your reviews for 2020 Cali Wines?
2020 Sea Slopes Fort Ross Winery Pinot Noir - USA, California, Sonoma County, Fort Ross - Seaview (10/30/2022)
Day 1: Only buy one 2020 at a time is the advice I am giving myself. This is the worst of the Sea Slopes Pinot’s I have tasted. Burnt toast, cranberry, spice and floral notes. It is not bad it is just not in the league of prior vintages. This is a pass on day 1 but things have changed before. 86 points
Day 2: More noticeable. Burnt toast, muted fruit, sour berries and short finish. Even worse on day 2 and this is one of many 2020’s that will disappoint. 80 points
Day 3: The nice thing about 3 day wine review is the flaws get multiplied on day 3. This wine is not drinkable and I will be returning it for a full refund. 65 points
Recommendation: This is always a 90 plus wine for me but not in 2020. Buy different vintages from Sonoma and Napa in 2020. (86 points)
2020 Tensley Syrah - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (10/5/2022)
Day 1: The Tensley lineup in 2020 is amazing. These are not pop and pour and get better with air and of course better on day 2 and 3. Nice fruit, menthol, pepper, spice and floral notes. If you wanted to get someone away from drinking the Prisoner this would be a perfect wine to do that. 92 points
Day 2: Mellowing out on the pop and pour from the initial pop and pour on day 1. This really could use a 2 hour decant on day 1. Nice fruit featuring blackberries, ripe strawberries and mulberries. Spice, floral, dust, pepper and earth on the finish. Complex wine it is. 92+ points (92 points)
2020 Valravn Chardonnay - USA, California, Sonoma County (9/25/2022)
Nice overall with lemon, lime, minerals and sour fruits. Medium finish and nice acidity. (88 points)
2020 Tensley Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (9/13/2022)
Day 1: Blueberries, sour cherry, menthol, black licorice, blackberries, smoke and black pepper. Again amazing stuff. One flawed bottle but the other 2 are off the charts on the QPR. 93 points
Day 2: More aromatics on the nose. Blackberries, black licorice, black pepper, rose petals, mild smoke, ginger and blueberries. Medium plus finish. Well made and 2020 has been good to Tensley. 93+ points
Day 3: Again day 3 wins out on the younger wines. Lost its sweeter fruit presence and features sour berries, smoke, black pepper, rose petals, crushed rock, menthol, underbrush and violets. Super flavorful wine and medium to long finish. Really should not be drinking these now but once day 3 hits it is amazing. 94 points
Recommendation: Buy this! (94 points)
2020 Trefethen Eshcol - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll District (9/13/2022)
Another worthless Ben C. note on a wine. This wine is nice overall. Bell pepper, red currants, olives and earth. (90 points)
2020 Wolff Vineyards Teroldego - USA, California, Central Coast, San Luis Obispo County (7/20/2022)
Day 1: Nice flavor featuring herbs, spices, dried prunes, blackberry, underbrush and black pepper. Medium plus finish and full of life. I like it!
Day 2: Certainly not a grape variety I drink often especially from California but it works. Blackberry, black pepper, herbs, spice, earth and dried prunes. Very similar to day 1 and for sure should age nicely. 92 points
Recommendation: Very nice wine and drink through 2027. (92 points)
2020 Emmolo Sauvignon Blanc - USA, California, Napa Valley (3/19/2022)
Flavored water with some lemon. Nothing to this wine. Terrible stuff. (76 points)
2020 Hitch Pinot Noir - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley (3/19/2022)
This stuff is terrible. Sweet and not acidity. Tastes like a Total Wine Pinot Noir under $20. (75 points)
2020 Diatom Chardonnay - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (2/13/2022)
Day 1: Got some big scores and it was $20 so why not try it. Well, no oak barreling and as I predicted tastes like a Sauvignon Blanc. It is not bad but 96 points is a joke! Straw, lemon, mild spices, lime and orange rind. A bit bitter on the finish. Acidity marginal. (Composite cork). 87 points
Day 2: Such a spritzy quality that I don’t like on this wine. Again, is this Sauvignon Blanc? Lemon, straw, lime, floral and orange rind. Shorter finish and really lacks acidity. Not sure what they were attempting here but fails as a Chardonnay. 86 points
Day 3: Again this is why 3 Day Wine Reviewing is the way to roll. No this is not a 96 but better on day 3. Apple, lemon, spice, minerals, orange rind and floral. Acidity better and finish is closer to medium. Nice spices on the finish. Tastes more like a Chardonnay. 90 points
Recommendation: If you don’t like a wine on day 1 try it on 2 or 3. (90 points)
SLO, Edna Valley, Sta Rita Hills, and the SBC vineyards where Tensley gets Syrah should all have been fine. Napa/Sonoma are areas where location and timing matter. Sonoma, in particular, is huge.
I haven’t yet tasted a 2020 Napa/Sonoma wine in a commercially available bottling that has currently evident smoke taint (I.e. I am not discounting the possibility that smoke taint will appear later in some wines or that it is already present in wines I haven’t tasted).
I have tasted a few 2020 Napa/Sonoma wines that aren’t showing smoke taint but feel like they have been treated for smoke taint. For the several popular resin treatments, this usually means decreased varietal distinctiveness (especially tricky for Pinot Noir) but not necessarily poor quality. It varies a lot, is hard to determine, and most people won’t tell you if they’ve treated their wines or not.
I have tasted some 2020 Napa/Sonoma wines that were made from fruit that, knowing approximate pick dates, was definitely picked after smoke exposure but do not show any evidence of either smoke taint or decreased quality.
I worked in an analytical lab that performed smoke taint analysis during the 2020 fires, and I currently work at a company that provides, as a small part of our business, limited smoke taint remediation services. So I cannot, even if I wanted to, give anyone any more information on specific wines.
I therefore think that this thread is a great idea. The recommendation to taste everything and see for yourself is not feasible for everyone with every wine, so by crowdsourcing the community’s experience we can have a better understanding of how the wines are looking.
It’s unfair to talk about smoke taint with as broad a brush in such a large and diverse a wine region as California. There were a few wine regions that were affected by smoke taint in 2020 - and not even all vineyards / all varieties in those regions - while large parts of the state’s winegrowing regions were completely unaffected. Without greater specificity this is a pointless topic.
I’ve only had 3 2020 NorCal wines that were obviously smoke tainted. I think most winemakers are trying to put out products that are at least consumable in the near term. I stated on another thread, I am ready to consume any and all 2020 wines early due to the risk of taint.
After consuming a bunch of 2020 - It is clear many winemakers changed techniques for this vintage or there is something different with the grapes. We recently popped open a 2020 Ridge Ponzo - and it was very un-Ridge-like in style - quite literally no evidence that this was in American Oak. We bought these when we did our ATP pickup at Lytton Springs and they served this - I asked directly if there was a winemaking change for this vintage and didn’t get a firm answer. Even Bedrock’s 2020s have a different profile to them.
Not saying this is a bad thing. I rather have a different style than totally undrinkable due to smoke taint.
I just think that 2020 NorCal wines are going to be different. And by the same extension, 2021 Sierra Foothills wines may have similar problems.
Well the point is to post wines that are impacted and not impacted as I have done. Personally I will still buy wines that are not impacted but will buy elsewhere if it is noticeable and impacts the quality.
Sounds like posting tasting notes and determining if a wine is good or not. I have found one wine to be an issue and over 4 days the Sea Slopes is noticeably smoke tainted. I have had many vintages and none were this bad. As you can see others have posted that some of the wines are drinking fine at the moment.
I’d be a bummer to see areas like SBC get lumped in with and have a similar stigma as the Napa 2011s but for smoke taint. I’m definitely not rolling any dice buying expensive 2020 Napa/Sonoma wines without knowing their state so the Napa/Sonoma notes are helpful. My Kistler noted above was a 2019 on the display and stupid me didn’t look at the label when I grabbed one from the rack. Lucky $80something purchase, I suppose.
That reminds me, I need to pick up my 2020 Colson Cyn wines from K&L
The Tensley wines have been the two best I have ever tasted from 2020. I was upset as a local wine shop sold out when I went to buy a mixed case of the two but once again promoting wine sales locally has not panned out for me but at least others will enjoy.
Explain that to me? If the wine is smoked taint what is the problem. It is not like anyone on here is going to make up notes on wineries. The fact that so many good wineries in Napa did not produce a 2020 is a testament that it is a serious issue.
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