2002 all over again

September 28, 2006, Yamhill, OR. Everyone is moving fast and furiously to bring in Pinot Noir in Yamhill County.  If someone hasn't already, let me be the first to declare this another stellar vintage for the Northern Willamette Valley. It could be snowing in August and someone would declare as such, that is the nature of wine marketing in 2006 world wide; I think we are less guilty than some. But I am here to tell you it really is an incredible vintage.

The vintage started with a wet spring, followed by a warm, dry summer and a perfect September. Perfect because we got a week of cool weather right in the middle with a little precipitation. It helped slow things down and give Lenné Pinot Noir more hang-time. At the end of the first week of September, sugar levels were already ascending into pick-able numbers at Lenné, but without the corresponding flavor development. Our picking decisions are all about flavor development as opposed to sugar levels. You can taste Pinot Noir that is sweet and then you can taste Pinot Noir that sends your head spinning with visions of what will be in the bottle.

On Monday, September 25th, we picked the 777 and 115 clones. On Wednesday, September 27th, we picked the pommard. A week ago, the pommard block was my least favorite. David O'Rielly of Owen Roe, suggested we delay the pommard by a couple of days to let the flavors develop. We make our wine at Own Roe as well as provide grapes for Owen Roe Pinot Noir. Our 2005 grapes went into his stunning Pinot Noir from the Yamhill-Carlton Districe(AVA) called "The Killmore."

A sunny, warm weekend and early part of the week helped the pommard develop beautifully. The flavors were incredible and the best grapes to come off the vineyard yet. It is amazing how the extra hang time developed flavors I had never tasted from the vineyard, in spite of the very high quality of fruit from the 04 and 05 vintage. If I said I am looking forward to following the wine made from these grapes, it would be an understatement.

While it is always early to say until the wines come together after the new year, I see this vintage as parrelleling one of my favorite all time Oregon vintages: 2002. That was a warm vintage, also marked by a brief period of cool weather in September with a little rain.  The remaining part of September was warm and dry with cool evenings.  The vintage produced generous, flavorful wines with a silky mid palate.

While you can never say anything is easy about an Oregon vintage, this vintage was marked by the lack of disease pressure, perfect growing conditions and perfectly intact fruit; even the birds stayed away. It will go down as a great vintage and lucky for us, it didn't snow.