| Score: |
97-100 JD.
"A wine that has perfection written all over it is the 2017 James Berry Vineyard, which is 55% Grenache, 29% Mourvèdre, and 13% Syrah, with slightly less stems than they’ve included in the past. This beauty has a blockbuster bouquet of blueberries, kirsch liqueur, liquid violets, and ground herbs. It’s full-bodied, big, structured, and layered, yet also seamless and sexy, with the forward, charming nature of the vintage front and center. It’s a thrilling wine that will be approachable with just short-term cellaring and have 10-15 years of prime drinking. This report looks mostly at the 2016s from undeniable superstar winemaker, Justin Smith. Smith is one of the pioneers of the Paso Robles wine scene yet remains as humble and accessible as ever. Speaking about the 2016s, these are the strongest set of releases since the 2007s, and I suspect at maturity these wines will be even better. They have a rare sense of depth and richness paired with purity and precision, as well as singular characters, and these truly are special wines. The 2016 James Berry is quite possibly the greatest wine ever produced from the region and is a legendary wine in the making. Do whatever you can to latch onto a few bottles of this magical elixir. The majority of the 2016s will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age, but good luck keeping your hands off of them. The 2017s are similarly styled, yet they have slightly more elegance and approachability compared to the denser, richer 2016s. I suspect these will continue to put on weight as well with additional time in barrel. As I’ve said in the past, there are few mailing lists worth staying on in today wine world; this is one of them." Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, Nov 2018 |