Miner, The Iliad, 2020

Deep in the Oakville benchlands, on a site Miner Family have spent years persuading to do something genuinely extraordinary, THE ILIAD 2020 was released quietly to a very short list of very fortunate people. We were not, originally, on that list. We fixed that. ​ Through channels we'd rather not detail publicly, we secured an allocation that had no real business coming our way, and when the cases arrived we opened one bottle just to check the condition. ​ One became two. Two became a problem. You know how this goes. ​ Miner has always treated The Iliad as their flagship white statement — a Rhône-style blend of Roussanne, Viognier, and Marsanne with genuine Oakville ambition behind it. ​ The 2020 vintage had every reason to disappoint, and instead produced something quietly staggering. Rich, structured, and completely composed, this is a white wine that doesn't perform for you — it simply sits there, ageing with the unhurried confidence of a blend that knows exactly what it is and where it's from. ​ On the nose, white peach, honeysuckle, and toasted almond, then the palate opens into apricot, beeswax, roasted hazelnuts, and a long finish of warm spice and lanolin that simply will not quit. This is serious white wine dressed in Oakville clothes. One case will not be enough — and frankly, you already know that.