So far Dianna, Ryan, and I have blended all of our SRH, SLH, and RRV Pinot Noirs. We still have Sonatera, Hirsch (assuming we can make one, there’s some smoke issues here), Van der Kamp (again, assuming there is one, again some smoke issues), and all of Oregon (where preliminary tastings look really positive) left to blend. So obviously there’s a ways to go but some preliminary thoughts have been forming:
2008 is no 2007 in California Pinot Noir. That’s not to imply that the wines are going to necessarily be inferior, but it is pretty clear that for us to achieve the quality of 2007 we are going to have to be much more selective in our blends. Some examples of this are Keefer (in 2008 24% of the barrels are making the cut for the single vineyard wine, in 2007 it was 78%), Cargasacchi (40% in 2008, 63% in 2007), and Garys’ (48% in 2008, 70% in 2007). We also have 3 vineyards thus far that won’t be vineyard designated that were in 2007.
The SLH is undoubtedly the stand out CA region in the cellar. Perhaps that is because it really didn’t get frosted? There’s actually going to be a “Pisoni Reserve” (or some other name) in 2008. Maybe the late pruning is helping?
Trying frosted sections of vineyards vs. non-frosted sections is really interesting. The non-frosted sections are often bigger, richer, and riper (they still had low yields in a moderately warm year and thus often ended up being plenty ripe) while the frosted sections are leaner and sometimes a bit green. Interestingly, a bit of the frosted blended in with more of the non-frosted sometimes makes the best wine.
In some vintages the hard-press barrels make an interesting part of an overall blend. That is happening less frequently in 2008.
Whole cluster lots are performing slightly less well in 2008 than in 2007 and 2006.
Smoke is real issue out there for us at Hirsch and Van der Kamp. Hirsch is easy to explain, there were fires out by the coast, but Van der Kamp is harder to understand. Perhaps it is an altitude thing?
There’s going to be a lot of CA Appellation Pinot Noir in 2008. Given the economic challenges that won’t be a bad thing as far as ease of sales go. Profitability might be another issue.
There are probably other lessons to be gleaned as I step back and look over the notes but thought these were some interesting thoughts that might provoke some discussion.
Fascinating stuff. Thanks for the thoughts Adam. I’ve heard a lot of mixed things about 08, all over the map. Would love to get perspectives from as many Pinot growers and makers as we can.
Damn. Can’t imagine a reserve from that vineyard as its usually my faorite year in and year out. Note to self, stop in for a barrel tasting.
We have gone thru and seperated out lots. We are going to try Chard lees filtering on two of the least affected lots (actually been doing that this weekend) to see how it pans out. On the more affected lots we have Memstar coming in (a recommendation from a friendly fellow winemaker) and going to do that. We are not planning on vineyard designating the stuff we Memstar (and not sure on the Chard lees stuff) but hopefully it will clean it up enough to allow it to work in an Appellation blend.
Quick question/thought - if you are unable to remove the smoke taint from effected lots, would you still be able to use a small portion of the wine (maybe 3-5%) to blend into the Appellation blends? Smokiness can be a positive thing if it’s in balance with the rest of the wine… Or is the taint an off-putting/overpowering characteristic that will take over any wine it comes in contact with?
Actually, I feel pretty confident that thru Memstar removal and then blending it down we can get rid of the taint affect. It is a sensory perception thing and once it is blended to a low enough level I think it will be fine.
Adam - that is odd that Sonoma Mtn (IIRC that is where Van Der Kamp is) has smoke taint.
That being said, a friend’s Grenache from Eaglepoint Ranch has quite a bit of smoke taint. Not sure what he is going to do.
I tasted a couple barrels of Pinot from some mutual friends that had some smoke taint. Not real evident up front but on the finish it tasted like the smell of a fire pit at the beach during summer…not quite the “smoke” I like in wines.
What do you think it will do to this year’s crop? I’ve heard it can affect the second vintage as well?
I know the variables are endless, but I just spent the last four days going through 21 different lots of Syrah from four different vineyards. Two of the four had some degree of smoke taint in 06, yet I didn’t get even a hint of it in 07. We are dealing with it again, with the same two vineyards in 08. It is amazing how it affects one vineyard and not the other, even though they are in the same area. Also, Zinfandel didn’t display or take on the smoke related aroma/flavors, in 06 or 08. It’s a strange animal indeed.
…stunned silence or growers nervously waiting to see how fruitful the 2009 buds are? Can’t tell yet, but I think in some places in different regions we will see some blind shoots. We had a hard frost in SRH on Oct. 20 before the fruit came off. The question is whether the vines had a chance to store carbohydrates for winter. Which has an effect on primordial cells that become flowers, tendrils and leaves.
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