Wow. OK. So my blogging never quite recovered from my sales trip to NYC in the middle of harvest. Lots of grapes, more than we've ever done before. Fantastic!
Here's the final story on Boedecker Cellars Harvest 2009 by the numbers:
- Tons of Pinot Noir - 60.5 --> 153 barrels & 2 puncheons & 3 kegs
- Tons of Whites - 19.5
- Gallons Rose ~ 300
- First grapes into the winery: Hirschy Vineyard, Block C - Sep 22nd
- Last grapes into the winery: Momtazi Vineyard, Block C - Oct 12th
In comparison, 2008 - PN 44 tons, Whites 14.5
We barrelled down the last Pinot Noir on Nov 6th. White wines are still ticking away.
Vintage of the decade?Strong words and bold pronouncement, I know. But this was a fantastic year for ripeness. We did more whole cluster Pinot Noir ferments than ever before, as we had great phenolic ripeness. Every bit of PN going to barrel was ripe, complex, and like a sea of bing cherries. Most importantly, warm, even ripening weather allowed us to procrastinate and pick each site at the peak of distinctiveness. In two years, this could be called the vintage of the decade.
2009 White wines will set a new benchmark in Oregon. Flavors were ripe without excessive sugar, and deep, rich stone fruit flavors dominated everything. We took advantage from our "experiment" in 2008 and switched over to 12-18 hour skin contact on all of our Pinot Gris this year. The complex, interesting and overwhelmingly cool aromatics that resulted converted me from a "Oh yeah, Pinot Gris, whatever" person to a "Wow! I love Pinot Gris" fanatic. You'll see later this spring...
The folks at the Oregon Wine Board were kind enough to send out some seed questions for all of us. Below are a few of my reflections from this fall:
2009 Harvest Reflections
How did this year's weather affect you?
- The heat spike in August pulled a few things forward in ripeness, so we started on Sep 22nd, about one week ahead of normal. Our last pick came in on Oct 12th, right before the big rains started. (pretty close to average timing for our last pick.) The generally even warm weather through the summer pushed phenolic ripeness with more brown stems and seeds than I've seen in years. We used a lot more whole cluster fruit this year in ferments due to the fact that everything came in looking very clean and nicely ripe.
How are acid and sugar levels?
- Sugars on some younger blocks came in a little high due to some raisining induced by the last big heat spike. Overall, the acidity matched the ripe flavors very well, providing crispness and freshness but not hiding the dark, bing-cherry-like flavors in the Pinot Noir. Based on initial analysis of malic levels, these wines will pick up significant richness as they progress through malolactic fermentation this winter.
What are the emerging flavor profiles for the fruit?
- White wines are spectacular this year, with everything showing ripe stone-fruit flavors. I'm espcially excited by Pinot Gris (which rarely excites me) and Pinot Blanc. Regardless of site, these wines are showing some beautiful apricot and peach notes. The heat did not seem to affect the acidity much in the whites. Even though the flavors are ripe, the acidity is bright and balanced. 2009 should be a standout year for white wine in Oregon.
- Pinot Noirs are inky, dark, and very layered coming out of ferment. Fruit notes are very dark and ripe overall, but the vintage is not as prone to black-fruit and plum notes as, say 2006. Dark cherry and black currant aromas and flavors jump out of the glass right now. Tannins are firmer than 2008, which is a good thing given the overall "bigness" of the wines. Overall, these wines will drink well on release in 2011/2012 and are built for aging , as well.
How would you characterize yields? What is your forecast for tonnage this year?
- We came in ~ 10% over projected tonnage. Some was due to larger than forecasted cluster. Some was due to extra fruit coming on the market. When Dick Shea asks if I want more fruit, generally my answer is "Yes, how much can I have?"
Extras
Oh yeah. Here's a quick flic. of my ferry ride from NJ to Manhattan. While I was enjoying this view, Athena and the crew were sortion our last 10 tons of PN, pressing a bunch of Pinot Gris, and barrelling down the first Pinot Noir ferments.
