Find some wood and knock hard. I’m more than a little hesitant to risk the wrath of the gods by predicting the quality of wines barely in barrel. However, 1998 was a wonderful year and only a fool agrues with the truth. Moderate to low crop levels, healthy vines, a beautiful summer, lots of sunshine, warm temperatures and minimal rains in the fall all combined to produce what was overall the best harvest of the past twelve years. For many producers a rainy spring in 1997 and the rains and clouds of mid-June this year severely limited the crop size, especially in the Pinot noir vineyards. We managed to pick, with careful management and luck, our largest crop of Pinot noir ever, 50 tons, from six different sites and the fruit is lovely. 1998 also brought significant changes in our white wine program, and a new Pinot gris vineyard.
Harvest started on September 19th with the Esp. 374 clone Pinot noir used in our sparkling base wine. The balance of sparkling Pinot noir, the Esp. 236 clone was picked two days later. Both lots were picked slightly earlier and only the lightest pressing was used in order to produce a more delicate and balanced Brut cuvee. Five barrels of white Pinot noir juice were fermented separately (120 cases) to produce a second sparkling wine, the blanc de noir. The Chardonnay for the balance of the Brut cuvee was picked eleven days later and much riper than in the past. This was done to increase the cocoa notes in the Brut which have their origin in the Chardonnay portion of the blend. I have been tweaking the sparkling base wine production for the last three years in order to produce a more delicate Brut with more toast, nut, and cocoa notes, and a softer finish. Four years from now you can taste the result.
The first Pinot noir for red wine came from Brickhouse Vineyard and was picked on Sept. 29th. The crop level was an minuscule 1.1 tons per acre, but the fruit was amazingly concentrated and potentially the best Brickhouse I have made. This represents only 7 barrels of finished wine (168 cases). As my Toronto agent says, "prices will have to go up", although he is usually discussing his commission. On October 1st, we picked all of the Seven Springs Pinot noir, our largest lot of red grapes, at an almost normal crop load of 2.2 tons per acre (1000 cases) and the first part of the Freedom Hill Pinot noir. At pressing this is the most textured, rich, and complex Seven Springs Pinot noir I have ever made.
Over the next two days, the Pinot noir grapes from O’Connor Vineyard, the first ever Pinot noir fruit from Shea Vineyard, and the remaining lyre-trellis Pinot noir Pinot noir from Freedom Hill were all picked in beautiful condition. The last Pinot noir from Temperance Hill Vineyard was not picked until October 14th and, despite light intermittent rains, was the most dense, structured, and richly fruited pinot ever from this site.
Making Dijon-clone Chardonnay, increasing Pinot blanc production, adding the Shea Vineyard Pinot gris - potentially one the greatest Pinot gris sites in Oregon, and reducing the production of sparkling wine to 520 cases per year were long term white wine goals that we realized this year. Seven Springs Vineyard picked their, and our, first Dijon clone Chardonnay on Oct. 1st - 14 days earlier that the 108 clone was picked - and the fruit was riper, 23.6 deg. brix (WOW!), than I have ever seen Chardonnay from Oregon. A grand total of two barrels was made and will be sold as a future next spring. Next year, all of the Chardonnay from Freedom Hill and Seven Springs will be from Dijon-clone fruit, with production of only 450 cases/year until the 2003 vintage. The last O’Connor Vineyard Chardonnay was made in 1997. This is a huge reduction from the 1600 cases of Chardonnay per year produced through 1996 and is the main emphasis of our plan to switch from Chardonnay dominated white wines to Pinot gris/Pinot blanc.
The first Pinot gris from Shea Vineyard was picked Oct. 14th and this unbelievably ripe fruit came in at 23.8 deg. brix. The site is terraced on a steep south-facing hillside, is vertically trellised and is cropped at under 2.5 tons per acre - what I believe is a perfect recipe for Alsatian style Pinot gris. Most of the wine will be tank fermented with a small proportion aged in new French oak barrels to add texture to the finished wine. Look for this wine in Sept.’99. The Pinot blanc from Freedom Hill Vineyard was picked on October 13th, and we received almost three times the number of tons picked last year. The last day of harvest was Oct. 15th when we picked O’Connor and Vitae Springs Pinot gris and Chardonnay from Freedom Hill Vineyard. This is the last year for 108 clone Chardonnay from Freedom Hill and what a way to go out. The grapes were incredibly ripe and the juice had the texture of cream soda - rich, viscous, with perfectly balanced acidity; easily the best Chardonnay from Freedom Hill. What a great way to end the crush.
A total of 88 tons was harvested, 5400 cases, almost 60% of which was Pinot noir, only slightly down from the 91-96 ton average over the previous three years. The fruit was wonderfully ripe and the change from Chardonnay to other white wines was a goal we finally achieved. Over the next two years you will get a chance see if my comments inflict the wrath of god or honor the true nature of a great harvest.
Thanks,
Mark Vlossak
Winemaker