There might be
some truth to the popular notion that it never rains
in southern California. But, even though the weather
here is almost always mild and nice, it does not follow
that, climatically, every year is like every other year.
In fact, natives of this state know what is certain
about southern California weather is its complete unpredictability.
Here, we can have summers without heat, and winters
without cold. So, to say that we had two very unusual
growing seasons in 1998 and 1999 is a little ridiculous,
but let me try to explain what that meant for the wines
we made.
Both years were
characterized by cool spring weather that made the flowering
go poorly. This gave us small clusters that didn't weigh
much, and thus a small crop. And as much as growers
and wine-makers would like to deny it, there is a very
strong reverse correlation of crop yield and wine quality.
There is simply more flavor in grapes from vines that
produce a modest crop. The other major factor that influenced
wine quality in 1998 and 1999 was the lateness of the
harvest. In both years we didn't harvest a grape until
the last few days of September--and didn't finish until
November 19th! The important period of grape maturation
occurred late in the season when the days are shorter
and the weather cooler. This had a profound effect on
the grapes, which had higher acidity levels and more
intense fruit flavors.
The
weather here in 1999 was decidedly stranger because we
had no summer. It never got hot, not even in Ojai. We
had a nice warm sunny September, which saved us, because
otherwise many of the grapes from our vineyards would
never have ripened. Most of the wines turned out a lot
like the 1998's, high in acidity and full of extract.
In a word, fantastic! There are a few wines that are so
extreme that they strike me as odd at this point. I do
not know whether they will be truly great or just wonderful
and weird. These are wines with very high alcohol, very
high acidity and amazing flavor. Only time will tell whether
they will come into balance, but at this point in time
I am quite optimistic.
We have produced
some of our best wines to date from these two extraordinary
years. In this newsletter we offer our richest chardonnay
to date, a compelling and delicious pinot noir, and
three of the five syrahs we made in 1998. Enjoy!
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