Smoke Taint 2020 Northern California.

[Jim_Cowan]

My winemaker side says Jeb just made it harder for me to sell 2020 red wine, even if it has no taint.
My consumer side says there are going to be some good bargains on NoCal 2020 reds.
Best, Jim

[David_Bu3ker]

I will enjoy my 2011’s and 2017’s when I drink them. Heck, I might even bring some of them to an offline.

There are some lovely 2011 Napa Cabs. If you have the Corison, it’s delicious.

[J_Rock]

Does anyone think North Coast Syrahs are less likely to be tainted than Cab? I was planning on buying a normal amount of North Coast Syrah. It also helps that they’re typically much less expensive than the Cabs.

[Al_Osterheld]

Some of the compounds responsible for smoke taint occur naturally in Syrah (less of it, obviously), so it’s a bit more difficult to to interpret the tests, and a little bit of it is less jarring than in Pinot Noir or Grenache (and probably Cabernet, I don’t drink as much of it).

Smoke taint is like housing prices, it’s highly local and timing is important, so it’s difficult to make blanket statements across multiple counties. Buy from producers you trust.

-Al

[John_Glas]

Does anyone think the average consumer will not buy 2020? I highly doubt the shelf talkers from some of the critics will have the smoke taint warning up front.

[OwenB]

The vast majority of the wines did not show smoke taint. A few did, though, including one really terrible example that I’m shocked was released. The winemaker is highly regarded and I was quite surprised he would’ve agreed to release it. Maybe he didn’t have the final say? There was nothing subtle about the smoke taint in that wine – the tannins were harsh and astringent and the palate was marred by an acrid burnt wood / bad barbecue profile that the wine has not shown in previous years. If I had bought multiple bottles of that for my cellar, I would be pissed.

Outpost? Believe Galloni and Dunnuck called out both Outpost and O’shaughnessy for smoke in their 2018s.

[Dan_Hammer]

I will enjoy my 2011’s and 2017’s when I drink them. Heck, I might even bring some of them to an offline.

There are some lovely 2011 Napa Cabs. If you have the Corison, it’s delicious.

I have an EMH Black Cat, a Schrader RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon, and an Old Sparky BTK mag from Schrader. I’ll get by.

[Chris_Johnson]

I still bought fruit I’m 2020 for my home project. It was a leap of faith. Both growers I bought from said we’d work it out on the backend if it was tainted. So far, so good. I’d put my 2020’s ahead of 2018 right now. I think 2019 was better since they had a bit more acid.

I’ve talked to several winemakers and tasted some barrel samples. A few have something on the back palate that made me nervous, a few tasted like Mendo in 2008, and some were fabulous. I’d say if you’re on the fence, stick with the trusted winemakers on small labels. While 2021 is looking great, the yields were light and some are having to blend away SVD into appellation to make sure they keep their name in the marketplace. Skipping 2020 and light crops in 2021 are tough. Let’s hope our favorites hang in there.

[Scott_Brunson]

I will enjoy my 2011’s and 2017’s when I drink them. Heck, I might even bring some of them to an offline.

There are some lovely 2011 Napa Cabs. If you have the Corison, it’s delicious.

I have an EMH Black Cat, a Schrader RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon, and an Old Sparky BTK mag from Schrader. I’ll get by.

11 Comtinuum is outstanding.

[Casey_Hartlip]

I still bought fruit I’m 2020 for my home project. It was a leap of faith. Both growers I bought from said we’d work it out on the backend if it was tainted. So far, so good. I’d put my 2020’s ahead of 2018 right now. I think 2019 was better since they had a bit more acid.

I’ve talked to several winemakers and tasted some barrel samples. A few have something on the back palate that made me nervous, a few tasted like Mendo in 2008, and some were fabulous. I’d say if you’re on the fence, stick with the trusted winemakers on small labels. While 2021 is looking great, the yields were light and some are having to blend away SVD into appellation to make sure they keep their name in the marketplace. Skipping 2020 and light crops in 2021 are tough. Let’s hope our favorites hang in there.

We’re already seeing demand for grapes for 2022.

[John_Glas]

There are some lovely 2011 Napa Cabs. If you have the Corison, it’s delicious.

I have an EMH Black Cat, a Schrader RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon, and an Old Sparky BTK mag from Schrader. I’ll get by.

11 Comtinuum is outstanding.

I think you mean: Continuum

[CraigT]

The vast majority of the wines did not show smoke taint. A few did, though, including one really terrible example that I’m shocked was released. The winemaker is highly regarded and I was quite surprised he would’ve agreed to release it. Maybe he didn’t have the final say? There was nothing subtle about the smoke taint in that wine – the tannins were harsh and astringent and the palate was marred by an acrid burnt wood / bad barbecue profile that the wine has not shown in previous years. If I had bought multiple bottles of that for my cellar, I would be pissed.

Outpost? Believe Galloni and Dunnuck called out both Outpost and O’shaughnessy for smoke in their 2018s.

Yeah he did. I’m on there list and didn’t buy any.

[John_Morris]

Smoke taint in Cabernet does not taste like smoke, it tastes harsh, with biting astringency like it needs time to develop. I’ve tasted samples of smoke tainted 2017 Cab from Will Segui and Mike Smith. They could never release something like that.

I remember having a 2008 (Mendocino something, as I recall) that seemed plain old smoky.

Cab? Perhaps the amount of exposure renders different notes? I don’t know. 2008 was smoky through verasion and beyond. Months rather than 2017 when the fires hit during harvest. I remember my Wife calling out smoke in a 2008 Mendocino Zinfandel and she never says more than this tastes spicy or this is fruity.

It wasn’t a cab. Someone brought it to a brown-bag group of mine, which is why I don’t remember it exactly. Some people there liked it. Me, not so much.

[John_Morris]

Smoke taint in Cabernet does not taste like smoke, it tastes harsh, with biting astringency like it needs time to develop. I’ve tasted samples of smoke tainted 2017 Cab from Will Segui and Mike Smith. They could never release something like that.

I remember having a 2008 (Mendocino something, as I recall) that seemed plain old smoky.

Navarro put out a cut price and different label Pinot in 2008 that tasted liked smoked Pinot for the first few months. Later bottles turned ash tray. When it was just normal smoky it was kind of fun for the cheap price.

I was aware of Navarro’s second label, but what I tasted was something different. I don’t have my back tasting notes, or I’d look it up. It’s bugging me now that I can’t recall.

[CraigT]

I just wanted to point out that Realm isn’t releasing any Beckstoffer Dr Crane and Myriad is, who’s right?

[M_Mager]

Navarro put out a cut price and different label Pinot in 2008 that tasted liked smoked Pinot for the first few months. Later bottles turned ash tray. When it was just normal smoky it was kind of fun for the cheap price.

I remember them selling those wines (under the “Indian Creek” label) as a 3-pack: Pinot, Syrah and Zin. They were quite upfront about what was going on, and why they did the second label. The price was pretty trivial, so I decided to buy one - figuring that, in the worst case, at least it would be educational.

If I remember correctly – the Pinot was almost undrinkable (I may have poured that bottle down the drain after one glass), the Syrah was just OK (noticeably smoky, but not overwhelming), and the Zin was quite good. Not sure why it played out that way for the different varieties.

Michael

[Scott_Brunson]

I have an EMH Black Cat, a Schrader RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon, and an Old Sparky BTK mag from Schrader. I’ll get by.

11 Comtinuum is outstanding.

I think you mean: Continuum

Either Otto korekt or poor dexterity.

[John_Glas]

11 Comtinuum is outstanding.

I think you mean: Continuum

Either Otto korekt or poor dexterity.

I am using spell check right noow . Had afew too many and it is only 6:000 in MN.

[Victor_Hong]

11 Comtinuum is outstanding.

I think you mean: Continuum

Either Otto korekt or poor dexterity.

Or PWI.

[Scott_Brunson]

I think you mean: Continuum

Either Otto korekt or poor dexterity.

Or PWI.

Not this time, oddly enough.