Posted on 11/21/2013 6:18:56 AM PST by Renfield
Harvest. For winemakers, no other word is loaded with so much potential and anticipation. After a long growing season of endless work in the vineyards, it's time to see what nature delivered. On the West Coast in 2013, most vintners are reporting a great year, a twin to the promising 2012. In many parts of Europe, however, it's another year of challenging conditions and low yields.
In the first of five 2013 vintage reports, California winegrowers up and down the coast are celebrating a long, sunny year. After last year’s high quality and high yields, 2013 offers more of the same. The one lingering concern is persistent drought conditions that could mean trouble down the road. As for final quality in the bottle, it's too early to know, but here's a sneak peek.
Anderson Valley
The good news: 2013 was nearly an ideal season, with moderate temperatures and no rain or heat extremes.
The bad news: Acidity levels in some wines were elevated, requiring special care.
Picking started: Aug. 20
Promising grapes: Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer
Analysis: “It was one of those rare vintages where any complaints come across as ungrateful or nit-picky,” said Goldeneye winemaker Michael Fay. Most of his colleagues in Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley agree—2013 was an ideal year.
The growing season started early and remained about two weeks ahead of most previous years all summer. Water for irrigation was scarce after a dry spring, but that triggered few problems and two small rainstorms in September caused few headaches. Pinot producers had the luxury to allow the grapes to hang and reach optimum maturity. “There were some racy acidities at harvest, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but certainly something to work with as wines go through malolactic fermentation and aging,” said Navarro winemaker Jim Klein. Nothing worth complaining about, certainly.
—Tim Fish Napa Valley
The good news: An ideal season—dry conditions and a long, sunny summer.
The bad news: Sugar levels soared, but patient growers could produce balanced fruit.
Picking started: Aug. 9
Promising grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon shined brightest, but everything excelled, from reds to whites.
Analysis: Assessing harvests is a process that extends from the actual picking, to fermentations, to barrel aging and then selection—separating the best lots from lesser ones. But so far, Napa Valley winemakers are unanimous in their enthusiasm for the just-finished 2013 harvest, a drought year and worthy, if not superior, successor to 2012.
Josh Wadaman, winemaker at Lewis, described a largely uneventful, early harvest marked by warm weather and no threat of rain. “The challenge of 2013 was to be patient and weigh the pursuit of ripeness versus the reality of increasingly high sugars.” In essence, he said, “vintage '13 broke conventional thinking and certainly our conventional planning, but I think we are going to see wines with great personality as a result.” At this stage, with rich midpalates and muscular tannins, “the wines seem bigger and more concentrated than in 2012.”
Laurie Hook, winemaker at Beringer Vineyards, said 2013 had plenty of surprises, even if quality is very high. “We had a lot of mountain Cabernet ready before our Cabernet [on] the valley [floor],” she said. “Cabernet Franc on Howell Mountain, often the very last fruit we pick, was ready before the early-ripening Merlot on the same ranch, and a number of blocks really outperformed themselves.”
Harvest was the earliest in more than 25 years, said Hook, running from Aug. 9 through Oct. 22. “Quality across the board was outstanding. The whites are bright, vibrant and balanced. The Indian summer provided ideal weather to finish up harvest allowing us to pick each block at peak flavor levels and phenolic maturity. The color in the red varieties was over the top and the season allowed us to match that with rich ripe tannins, the result being big reds with a lot of opulence and complexity.”
“The fruit was amazingly clean,” said Jeff Ames, winemaker for Rudius and Tor. "The clean fruit allowed for some more whole-cluster fermentations on the Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre-based wines, which I always like for the spice.”
Vintners are divided on which of the past two vintages is superior. “I prefer the quality [of 2013] to 2012,” said Aaron Pott of Pott wines. “The wines are more dense and rich and the tannins are more ripe. It is more of a bountiful ‘California’-style harvest with abundant richness and density.”
“For 2013 I can honestly say it was the best raw material I have ever seen,” said Thomas Brown, owner of Rivers Marie and a consulting winemaker for several top wineries. "Given how cooperative the weather was, you could basically achieve anything you wanted from the grapes this year.”
This is good news, particularly since 2012 and 2013 were poor years in Burgundy, the Loire, and Bordeaux.
I don’t think you checked the excerpt box. Note to others - there are many other California wine regions discussed at the source link.
Shucks, I was SO looking forward to another perpetually cloudy, dreary, rainy and cold California summer. We just get way too many of the long, sunny kind here.
It is to be hoped that you have a cloudy, dreary, rainy and cold California winter, as otherwise there might not be enough soil moisture to nourish a grape crop next year.
That happens every year, too. Started on Tuesday this week. I was sloshing around on foot in SF for miles in the rain. Not a cab in sight, streets gridlocked. What a mess.
Having lived in Solano County (12 miles from Napa)my wife and I did more of our fair share of winery tours in the area. Some comments (if I may) for mid price range ($15-40) wine fans:
Napa Valley (1.0 hrs from SFO)--
First Stop: Mondavi and join their club. That will get you free tastings at 12-13 area wineries.
Splurge -- Darioush
Best View - Signorello
Restaurant of choice: Hurley's in Rutherford (no corkage) and 'wild' game regularly on the menu (Elk, Boar, Venison).
Better advice though is to go to Healdsburg (1.5 hrs from SFO) or Sonoma (1.1) min. west)less crowded and friendlier.
Best Advice: Go to Paso Robles (3.0 hours drive south) Up and coming wines, fair prices, many wineries and a few very good restaurants. Try: Jack Creek, Margene, Daou (Gorgeous view and wines!)
Meant to delete "min. west". Sonoma is 1.1 hours drive from SFO.
I need to do a Central Coast trip. I’ve been to most, if not all, of the other principal wine growing regions in CA.
I love Healdsburg.
20 Years ago we were having lunch at Bistro Ralph and four guys clomped in: work boots, cover-alls. They were greeted by their first names, obviously local regulars. Each had 2-3 bottles of wine all unlabeled, but marked.
We listened in as they poured and tasted each of the wines:
'Try this - 'It's the zinfandel from the 20 year old vines'
or 'This is the Cab I am bottling now...'
Stuff like that.
My wife, not being shy started talking to them. They ended up asking the owner to give us glasses and we were soon tasting with them.
That day made Healdsburg my favorite.
Just about every year in CA is good. If fact you generally have to really screw up badly to make a bad wine here, especially red wine. White is a bit touchier, but still, even the bad years are pretty good.
Is there a Hurley’s inRutherford? The one I know — and love— is in Yountville. A wonderful restaurant.
Yeah, nice to know our state is good for something. :-)
Does this mean climate change has spared the vineyards?
You are right, it is in Yountville. My bad.
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