The Napa Valley Vintners association has this to say about the 2017 vintage: “Mother Nature throws curve balls; winemakers catch them”. Winemaker Marcus Notaro considers 2017 the most challenging vintage of his career; he feels Stag’s Leap Vineyard (SLV) “took the heat better”. Like the Fay there’s nettle and dock on the nose (I love the fresh greenness you get from this vineyard). It’s intense; the tannins are dusty, slightly baked, hints of clay and what Notaro describes as “paracetomol or aspirin”. The palate tight and closed but the fruit is there of course – cherry and dark fruit, cassis – and the acidity is fresh if not gushing as yet.