2022 was an unusual vintage in Napa Valley. California’s longest drought in 1200 yearscontinued withmodest rain in the Fall, and almost nothing more through February. There was welcome rain at the end of May, but June was very hot, and in late August and early September an unprecedented heat wave pushed temperatures up to among the highest ever recorded. As a result, ripening was accelerated and Harvest began very early. Greer Vineyard,however, took its own sweet timeto ripen, as usual. The vineyard was covered with shade cloth to protect the fruit from the damage that began in most vineyards due to the heatwaves in late August. The late September rains reinvigorated the vines, and the weather thereafter was highly desirable for a small handful of rare sites benefitting from exceptional terroir. Greer Vineyard is one of those rare sites, and the fruit ripened gently in the moderate autumnal sunshine.
2022 Greer is full bodied and dense, displaying the super round tannins available only from the noblest sections of the famed Rutherford Bench. Greer Vintage 2022 is particularly aromatic, showing plum, cherry, black currant and violet; it has amazing density and depth of flavor with an astounding length."
This release will start early Friday morning (PDT), October 4th, and will remain open until early Monday morning (PDT), October 14th.
Received my first offer, but no longer interested in purchasing (just too many great options at that price point and my wallet can only stretch so much).
Yeah I’m on the fence as well most likely leaning towards passing as I went deep with the offering last year…Might hold out for 23 at this point…Was nice to see them hold the line on pricing
I am passing this year. I deployed my Greer money to pick up several bottles at auction for older vintages going back to 2010. for less than the current release. plenty of older ones still out there at auction
Kind of curious if there is any consensus regarding how this winery has evolved over the years. I started buying with their very first vintage (2007) and still have a single bottle. I have bought some recent vintages also. Recently had a 2009 which was very good but not outstanding. Any thoughts?
I can’t speak to older vintages, but I had a 2016 two years ago; I think my CT review called it “the Platonic ideal of a Napa cab” which, on reflection should be revised as “a modern Napa cab”. It was one of the best cabernets I’ve had, period.
I assembled a complete vertical tasting last year and Insta post is linked below. The wines are holding up very well and while the 2008 was certainly a favorite, the general consensus from our group was that these wines have gotten better throughout the years. The 13,16 and 18 were incredible and have the stuffing to improve for many years. Hope this helps.
If I’m remembering right, Roy Piper chose not to produce his share of the Greer Vineyard in 2022. Interesting how some blocks of the same vineyard are not used and others are.
Not a knock on Rob producing one as I would trust his (and Aaron Pott’s) decision to produce a 2022 vintage. Just an observation that highlights the difficult choices wine makers face these days.