Napa Valley, California, USA
I’m at 94-95 here. Upside over the next 5-10yrs.
Purchased during a visit to Melka back in ‘21. This 2017 ended up being the favorite red wine of the tasting (though the ‘16 SB was my overall favorite). Pritchard Hill fruit next to Ovid. 70 cab/20 CabFranc /10 petit Verdot.
Purple in the glass. Sports the entire fruit spectrum (red, blue, black) but trends darker toward the finish. Expensive oak but it’s really pretty (doesn’t come across as too oak driven). For the vintage, this is elegant and integrating nicely. Fruit is very pure (blueberries, blackberries, plum) with baking spices (cinnamon and vanilla) with a vein of mineral/graphite down the middle. Consumed from decanter over 3hrs and left a glass for the next day…improved over time, but this was already starting to open for business.
I opened this alongside two other 2017 Napa cabs with a small group for a check-in on the vintage. MacDonald was the winner, Kinsman Rhadamanthus was the most unique, this Melka fit in-between style wise (more modern than the other two).
I’m at 94-95 here. Upside over the next 5-10yrs.
Purchased during a visit to Melka back in ‘21. This 2017 ended up being the favorite red wine of the tasting (though the ‘16 SB was my overall favorite). Pritchard Hill fruit next to Ovid. 70 cab/20 CabFranc /10 petit Verdot.
Purple in the glass. Sports the entire fruit spectrum (red, blue, black) but trends darker toward the finish. Expensive oak but it’s really pretty (doesn’t come across as too oak driven). For the vintage, this is elegant and integrating nicely. Fruit is very pure (blueberries, blackberries, plum) with baking spices (cinnamon and vanilla) with a vein of mineral/graphite down the middle. Consumed from decanter over 3hrs and left a glass for the next day…improved over time, but this was already starting to open for business.
I opened this alongside two other 2017 Napa cabs with a small group for a check-in on the vintage. MacDonald was the winner, Kinsman Rhadamanthus was the most unique, this Melka fit in-between style wise (more modern than the other two).
