2016 Betz Family Clos de Betz

Classically merlot plums and mulberries with some darker, graphite-like notes, as well as baking spices. The depth here is stunning, it has a very sleek and assertive palate with abundant plums and mulberries. A blend of 70% merlot, 15% cabernet sauvignon and 15% petit verdot. Try in three to five years.

Moving to the 2016s from bottle, the 2016 Clos de Betz is 70% Merlot and 15% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It shows how strong this vintage was for Washington and is the finest example of this cuvée to date, offering up medium to full-bodied notes of blue fruits, violets, blood orange, and spring flowers. It’s seamless and layered on the palate, with terrific purity, and while it’s already drinking great, it’s going to keep for 15 years or more. The Griessel Family and winemaker Louis Skinner, with plenty of help from Bob Betz, continue to keep this estate near the top of the hierarchy in Washington, as well as all of the United States. Skinner commented that while 2017 was a hot vintage, smoke from massive fires in California and Oregon blocked a portion of the UV light which kept temperatures down, slowed ripening and delayed harvest. The result was good of hang time with the wines still showing sunny, perfumed characters. The 2016 Bordeaux variety releases showed beautifully.

Dark, bright red. Pungent floral and anise high notes lift aromas of dark raspberry, bitter chocolate and menthol. Juicy, intense and youthfully compact, showing more inner-mouth verve and floral lift than the 2015 version but still rather clenched and unevolved, with the medicinal menthol character following through on the palate. Doesn't convey the same quick-ripening impression of the earlier vintage but I still wanted more texture and pliancy. I'd come back to this adamantly dry Merlot-based blend in two or three years. ((13.5% alcohol)