Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Notes on the 2017 Vintage--Worst Year Ever?


I traveled and tasted widely for this review of the wines of 2017. I think, in general, the vintage can be summed up as miserable. The wise consumer should give ’17 a Pass—“Donner” seems appropriate. This is not unexpected, of course. Most of us began dreading 2017 toward the end of 2016. It turns out with good reason. My tastings, which cover every significant wine region on this doomed planet, show that, with few exceptions, 2017 was the worst year ever recorded since wine reviewing began. Which means, on a bright note, that Pinot Gris quality remains steady.

You'll want to read my insightful views on the dreadful 2017 vintage--the first reviews published anywhere of what is certain to be a miserable year. It's a global catastrophe! Make sure and believe all of the worst scenarios for 2017 you read. I promise you, it will actually be worse than you think. To read about the 2017 wines from around the globe, you'll have to jump over to Tim Atkin's wonderful site. Please leave your brilliant remarks on his site, or, if you must, begin the New Year as a beloved Common Tater here. 

TIM ATKIN MW

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7 comments:

  1. VinoNovatoJanuary 4, 2017 at 9:36 AM

    Hey Ron,
    I missed herring more from you about the 2017 heil storms in the red states?
    Did the crop reductions make their wines great again, or was there something rotten in those states?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Clare TooleyJanuary 4, 2017 at 4:33 PM

    Happy New Year! CRACKING form!! My one and only resolution this year is to laugh more - thank you for the great start. Clare

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  3. Bob HenryJanuary 4, 2017 at 9:42 PM

    You are nothing if not true to form.

    Just as the HoseMaster doesn't actually READ wine books prior to reviewing (sic) them, it makes equally perfect sense not to bother actually TASTING wines [from grapes not even on the vines in these first few days of calendar/vintage year 2017] prior to reviewing (sic) them.

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  4. Bob HenryJanuary 4, 2017 at 10:10 PM

    Hey Alvin, how long like a chipmunk have you been saving up these chestnuts?

    "But they were Côt stealing."

    "Pinotage may have needed the worst vintage ever to compete with the best wines, and it got it."

    "2017 was a disaster all over France, or, as they call it in the Jura, Vintage of the Century!"

    You assert:

    "2017 is so terrible in Bordeaux that Wine Advocate only awarded 12 perfect scores."

    Would those be 12 perfectly dreadful scores?

    I understand Rudy coughed up a partly large hairball when sampling the 2017 Burgs:

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/16/cb/25/16cb25218a75e59d55d9c48713d71dc2.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bob HenryJanuary 4, 2017 at 10:13 PM

    (Drat! I bungled my own set-up.)

    I understand Rudy coughed up a particularly large hairball when sampling the 2017 Burgs:

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/16/cb/25/16cb25218a75e59d55d9c48713d71dc2.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownJanuary 6, 2017 at 8:32 AM

    Awesome start to the year, Hose. Too many clever and funny cuts to mention, enjoyed them all

    Steve Pinzon

    ReplyDelete
  7. Paul in St. AugustineJanuary 7, 2017 at 5:08 AM

    Bob Henry, actually there are grapes on the vine in the Southern Hemisphere. Harvest in that part of the world is in a couple of months.

    ReplyDelete