That’s some damage! Impressive! What were the standouts?
They all showed very well. My favorites were the 21 Adversity Melanson Vineyard Cab and the 12 Bevan EE in mag. And while I typically don’t think about Chardonnay in the winter I couldn’t resist buying a 6 pak of the Five Wells chard from Adversity.
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I need to be on another mailing list like I need a hole in the head, but going to give these a try! $225 per bottle, while expensive, is starting to look like a compelling value against all of these $275-$300 bottles these days. 
Based on tasting notes, seems like I’d enjoy the '21 Catastrophe most, but anyone have a recommendation?
I have not tasted the Catastrophe although the notes are compelling. They are all Bevan and all great. Depends upon your palate. The Melanson was my favorite and the chard was special. I was at an Impensata tasting recently. While the wines were excellent they are $100 more. Too much money for me. Cheers!
Jay, you got me on the Adversity band wagon. Just ordered a 3 pack sampler.
- 2021 Catastrophe
- 2021 The Twin
- 2021 Melanson
I will let you know in five years what I think. 
As someone that has never had a Bevan wine before, any recommendations on a 5 to 10 year old Bevan Cellars wine that would be representative on what he is doing with Adversity? Wine bid has Tench Vineyard, Sugar Loaf and Otogeny offers right now.
Hi Chris - It really depends on your preference. Russell makes his wines to be enjoyed early but they are definitely age-worthy. I haven’t tasted them all but Melanson is my favorite and can be enjoyed young but, again, it depends on you. I wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to Adversity. They might be able to help with your question of timing. Cheers!
Ontogeny because it won’t break the bank and is fantastic!
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I enjoy M Etain style. Anyone happen to know how Bevan compare to Celia Welch’s style?
I like Ontogeny because it is a softer blend and I have more rocket fuel that I will drink for the rest of my life.
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I am a Scarecrow guy - never had the Tin Man - but Scarecrow is more forceful. Russell told me that he made his wines to be approachable sooner, so for someone age 72 (me!), that’s a good thing. But I’m not stopping my Scarecrow subscription.
Brilliant, thank you Jay
I had the good fortune to preview a couple of these a year and a bit ago when I was able to grab lunch with Russell in Napa
Russell brought 2 wines from his new Adversity project—the one he’s doing with Heidi. The 2020 Adversity Cellars J. Wells Chard showed me some similarities to the Bevan Ritchie Chard, with very expressive yellow and orange fruit and a dollop of creaminess on the palate, though still with drive. The 2019 Adversity Cellars Erba Syrah will need more time. Concentrated power but also quite rugged and unformed at the moment. Seems like good building blocks are there.
Approachable sooner - so not as age worthy or? Normally that would be the trade off right?
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Hard to say imho with these bottlings. I tasted the 19s with Russell and felt like they had the stuffing to evolve with age. But he makes them full flavored and lush (I know not everyone’s thing). The 20s I tried on my own were less complex to me (mostly
lacking the nose on the pour) but I think that might be a vintage issue as most 20s from the region I’ve found less interesting at first sniff. But nonetheless tasty wine.
My sense is that more producers not less are trying to make wines people can open earlier while maintaining some element of aging ability. If memory serves me correctly Russell wanted people to start drinking the wines and said they were fit for consumption.
I think the erba is a beast and would benefit from time in the bottle and likely Melanson too.
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