| Score: |
93 JG.
"The 1977 Heitz Fay Vineyard bottling is a superb example of the vintage that possesses plenty of potential longevity, despite its drinking beautifully at the present time. Like the 1978 Heitz wines, this really still needs some extended aeration before drinking, to allow all of its elements to unlock on the both the nose and palate. After a good thirty or forty minutes of air the wine offers up a lovely, red fruity nose of cherries, quince, blood orange, woodsmoke, a touch of curry, lovely soil tones, mustard seed, and a gentle topnote of the chipotles to come with further bottle age. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, pure and rock solid at the core, with impressively tangy acidity adding further vibrancy to the wine. The finish is very long, still a touch tannic and delivers outstanding length and grip. A very high class bottle of Napa cabernet at its zenith, the 1977 Fay Vineyard bottling is one of the most beautifully balanced examples that I have tasted from this drought vintage." John Gilman, View From the Cellar, May/Jun 2011, Issue #33 |