New Releases from Napa Valley: 2012 and 2013

Napa Valley has been blessed with two back-to-back good to potentially historic vintages at a time when many of the world’s top red wine producing regions have struggled with much more difficult growing conditions. This year I spent over a month in Napa Valley visiting vineyards and wineries, along with doing my most extensive tastings ever of new and future releases. The spring tastings focused mostly on the 2013s, while three full weeks in the fall provided a great opportunity to see a wide range of 2012s from bottle, 2013s from barrel and even a few 2014s.

Broadly speaking, the 2012s don’t live up the hype that has begun to build around this vintage. Yes, the top wines from the best properties are gorgeous, but once past the top names quality becomes much more variable, particularly in light of the very high expectations consumers may have. The 2013s, on the other hand, are majestic wines of the very highest level, although they will be slow to reveal themselves.

Cabernet Sauvignon, The Vineyardist, Diamond Mountain

Multimedia: Napa Valley - On the Road

2012 – It's Complicated...

After the challenging 2009, 2010 and 2011 harvests, 2012 was greeted with considerable fanfare. Growers and producers rejoiced in a classic Napa Valley harvest marked by good quality, abundant production and no weather shocks. The temperate, even conditions in the late fall were punctuated by a few heat spikes, but overall, this was a year in which the fruit could be left to hang.

Coming off two cold and lower-yielding vintages, growers naturally had the temptation to leave a little extra fruit on the vine. I remember walking through To-Kalon in late September. In one block I saw tiny bonsai-like, manicured clusters, while the adjacent block was a virtual tapestry of fruit. That is the moment I knew 2012 could turn out to be a highly variable vintage. It was crystal clear.