The Mascot 2017 Napa

Vintage 2017 proved to be one of those seasons that tests the mettle of both the winegrowing team and the vines. The exuberance of early spring was briefly disrupted by hailstorms, followed by heat waves that bracketed the summer months, elevating ripeness in the fruit. Despite these events, we took a calculated risk by waiting. Decades spent working these lands had encouraged us to exercise restraint, allowing the vines—even the young ones—to rely, wherever possible, on their own accumulated wisdom. Discipline rewarded us: as temperatures normalized, sugars rebalanced, acidity held, and harvest began not long thereafter. We are particularly fortunate to have produced The Mascot from fruit brought in before wildfires began in autumn. These adversities seem to have heightened the character of the wine, which emerged from the challenges with purity and poise—a testament to the pedigree of the sites themselves. The growing season’s relative warmth is absent in the glass, replaced by freshness and a piquant tension. The nose draws forward notes of red fruit and elements—earth, warm spice, leather—often deferred to the finish. Lithesome tannins and vibrant acidity attend a crystalline structure that is finely wrought and radiantly transparent.

WINEMAKER: THOMAS RIVERS BROWN