I was very pleasantly surprised by the bottled 2017 Vivaltus despite the fact that 2017 was a challenging year and was decimated by terrible frost in April that resulted in losses of up to 60% of the crop. The end of the season was warm and the harvest early, so the growing cycle was quite short. The wine is floral, perfumed, elegant and insinuating; the oak feels pretty integrated, and the palate is balanced with very good tannins (not as refined as those form the 2016 or 2018). A triumph over the adverse conditions of the vintage.- LG

Lots of dried stemmy herbs and some dried fruit character. Apparently this was a challenging year thanks to the hail, although the fruit on the palate is fresh. Sweet fruit with fine-grained tannins and a peppery finish. Drink now. Zekun Shuai Senior Editor