Spoke with a buddy who owns a vineyard in Oakville, and also a winemaker who sources from some top vineyards around the Valley, and they both said that ‘19 is looking like another ‘16 or ‘18…
I don’t think anyone in Napa has picked any Cabernet Sauvignon yet. And, yes, there’s a chance of rain in the forecast for Monday 9/16 but it will be light at best (less than 1/10 inch) so not likely to present a problem.
Brix to me is running ahead of flavor. I am 2-3 weeks out for my first pick. No one has picked Cab yet because there is no reason to. We had 0.1 inches today. Next ten days is 77-95F. Pretty much in the catbird seat. Berries smaller than last year. Tonnage is average to average-plus. Could be a top notch, classic year. A lot can happen between now and picking though.
Most likely no one has harvested much Cabernet at all. There will be a little heat spike this week/weekend that should have a few vineyards ready to pick. Most will be 2-3 weeks out…Should be a solid year again.