FALL 2007
One of the questions I hear
most often is, "How was the harvest this year?" I can never manage
to give an easy answer. It always takes me a few years to gain perspective
on the wines we made, and separate myself emotionally from the trials
and tribulations of the harvest. But now that the first reds from
2005 are being released it's time to make some comments.
2005 was an amazingly
prolific harvest, so right away I was concerned it would cause a dilution
of character in the wines. Many vineyards I saw were hideously over-cropped,
but I was smug with the knowledge that for the last nine years we
had thinned the fruit in our vineyard sites to a low 2 to 2.5 tons
to the acre. We were prepared this year as well and had gone through
all of our vineyards, and though a few blocks came in at higher than
anticipated yields, the vines and fruit had excellent balance. Timing-wise,
2005 seemed like a dream compared to 2004 when we had only a couple
of days to pick the pinot noir. In 2005 the weather was so mild we
literally had three weeks to decide when to pick.
In the barrel
the 2005 pinot noirs and syrahs seemed radically different than the
2004s-they were alive with acidity and tannins and had none of the
unctuousness that marked the 2004 vintage. I loved their precision
and their persistent personalities, but worried that they were a little
too subtle and esoteric. But after bottling, the wines seemed to fatten
up a bit and the tannins calmed down and were well masked by the fruit.
Tasting them now they still seem less rich than the 2004s, but they
are more complex and utterly alive with freshness, which makes them
very food-friendly. In my opinion these pinots are clearly our best
to date. As for the syrahs I think they're poised to be terrific,
but will give them another year or so before judging-I don't want
to be too hasty.
Adam
Tolmach