Fall 2012 - Harvest Report
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For most wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains, 2012 will go down as a happy vintage year, as we enjoyed a steady summer and normal ripening timing. For most of us, we endured little weather mischief until a fluky mid-October thunderstorm which fortunately blew through after most of the Pinot was safely resting in fermenters. Alas, 2012 will occupy an empty chair along Salamandre’s harvest table of Meadowridge Pinots from the Santa Cruz Mountains…a consequence of an earlier Mother Nature quirk. That sequence of Dijon clone Pinots, starting in 2004, includes a double gold award for the 2009 and a 93 point knockout for the 2010. We’ll have these puppies on the table this November and December for you to pet...and the 2011 is going to deepen our smile wrinkles before too long.
This year, we restored one of our bright delights of the past, a fragrant Sauvignon Blanc of the Musqué clone from regrafted vines at the Arroyo Seco Vineyard. The fresh grapes pleased the crushing crew with an unmistakable green fig aroma, along with fresh mown hay. Those virtues have carried through the fermentation along with an exotic floral spice I can’t quite name. (I’ll come up with something.)
Petite Sirah…the wine I loved most from my very first harvest as an amateur in the late 1970’s and a perennially deprecated legacy from California’s early wine history…is back! Serafin Guzman, Arroyo Seco’s vineyard foreman, wise counselor, and great friend, asked if I might like to take a little drive to “see some grapes.” Every time Serafin has offered that invitation over the last 30 years, something splendid has been revealed. This year it was the several rows of Petite Sirah at Los Lobos Vineyard in San Ardo. I haven’t made a Petite in 20 years, but it’s working its inky magic in the fermenters as I write this. I may have to order a black T shirt for this one. Stay tuned!
Primitivo is our last grape to harvest, and that can make things dicey as we inch into early November. We lost the entire crop of the 2011 Primitivo due to early rain, and the 2012 seemed like it might be headed for trouble, too. Just 5 days before harvest, a 5.3 earthquake centered South of King City gave San Ardo and these big clusters quite a midnight shaking. OK…maybe that’s one way to toss off the unworthy grapes and reward the determined ones. And then it drizzled for 2 days, which is a big “Uh-Oh.” Closely packed clusters of thin skinned grapes just don’t blow dry very well. Happily, the sun broke out, and without delay, we made 2 passes through the vineyard and scored 4 truckloads of hand selected, positively gorgeous fruit. Primitivo, aside from its predictable berry pungency, struts a black pepper aroma which vaulted out of the crusher this year. I have high hopes for this one!
2012 Update: What makes Primitivo so intense? The Los Lobos Vineyard looks down over the fertile benches above the Salinas River, desultorily sauntering southwards this time of year but capable of lots of noise in winter. Most of the Los Lobos vines are planted on terraces on the west (uphill) side of Hwy 101. However, in the upper reaches where the vineyard butts against really wild territory, one hill bulges above the rest of the plantings. From the highway, a traveler can’t see the vines planted on the southwest facing flank of that hill, but I’ve supervised them when Southwest starts its descent to the Bay Area. This steep terrain requires exclusive hand-work from pruning to harvest, fitting for a grape of Calabrian heritage. A crust of degenerating limestone juts above the crumbly soil near the ridgeline, and I suspect that calcareous soil influence is the key to the uniquely ravishing flavors of this Primitivo when we allow it to ripen to the max.
Cheers,
Wells Shoemaker MD, Winemaker
This year, we restored one of our bright delights of the past, a fragrant Sauvignon Blanc of the Musqué clone from regrafted vines at the Arroyo Seco Vineyard. The fresh grapes pleased the crushing crew with an unmistakable green fig aroma, along with fresh mown hay. Those virtues have carried through the fermentation along with an exotic floral spice I can’t quite name. (I’ll come up with something.)
Petite Sirah…the wine I loved most from my very first harvest as an amateur in the late 1970’s and a perennially deprecated legacy from California’s early wine history…is back! Serafin Guzman, Arroyo Seco’s vineyard foreman, wise counselor, and great friend, asked if I might like to take a little drive to “see some grapes.” Every time Serafin has offered that invitation over the last 30 years, something splendid has been revealed. This year it was the several rows of Petite Sirah at Los Lobos Vineyard in San Ardo. I haven’t made a Petite in 20 years, but it’s working its inky magic in the fermenters as I write this. I may have to order a black T shirt for this one. Stay tuned!
Primitivo is our last grape to harvest, and that can make things dicey as we inch into early November. We lost the entire crop of the 2011 Primitivo due to early rain, and the 2012 seemed like it might be headed for trouble, too. Just 5 days before harvest, a 5.3 earthquake centered South of King City gave San Ardo and these big clusters quite a midnight shaking. OK…maybe that’s one way to toss off the unworthy grapes and reward the determined ones. And then it drizzled for 2 days, which is a big “Uh-Oh.” Closely packed clusters of thin skinned grapes just don’t blow dry very well. Happily, the sun broke out, and without delay, we made 2 passes through the vineyard and scored 4 truckloads of hand selected, positively gorgeous fruit. Primitivo, aside from its predictable berry pungency, struts a black pepper aroma which vaulted out of the crusher this year. I have high hopes for this one!
2012 Update: What makes Primitivo so intense? The Los Lobos Vineyard looks down over the fertile benches above the Salinas River, desultorily sauntering southwards this time of year but capable of lots of noise in winter. Most of the Los Lobos vines are planted on terraces on the west (uphill) side of Hwy 101. However, in the upper reaches where the vineyard butts against really wild territory, one hill bulges above the rest of the plantings. From the highway, a traveler can’t see the vines planted on the southwest facing flank of that hill, but I’ve supervised them when Southwest starts its descent to the Bay Area. This steep terrain requires exclusive hand-work from pruning to harvest, fitting for a grape of Calabrian heritage. A crust of degenerating limestone juts above the crumbly soil near the ridgeline, and I suspect that calcareous soil influence is the key to the uniquely ravishing flavors of this Primitivo when we allow it to ripen to the max.
Cheers,
Wells Shoemaker MD, Winemaker