Vintage 2021

A Microscopic View – both close and narrow

A few years ago, at Jocko’s, I was sharing a bottle of late 70’s Gemello Cabernet with a friend. After more than 40 years the wine remained remarkably intact and delicious, but what was even more delightful was the back label. Instead of the usual nonsense there was a short and insightful essay. It began, “In order to understand this ’78 wine one must of course think back to ’77, the preceding vintage.” This is such a true and profound statement, yet one rarely encounters it in wine writing. A statement such as this identifies the writer as a winemaker who understands both the vineyard and the cellar. It is an unusual combination now and was even more so then.

So, echoing that label I would say that to understand the 2021 vintage one must of course think back to the 2020 vintage. 2020 was a vintage to forget for most of us on the west coast. Widespread wildfires wreaked havoc from California to Oregon. Heat storms which are the bane of Pinot Noir are not uncommon in coastal California – every third or fourth harvest is harmed by them. Devastatingly, in 2020 there were four the final month of ripening. They were of unprecedented severity as well. Wines not tainted with smoke were stressed by the heat and triage winemaking was the norm. It was an extreme vintage and based on predictions by climatologists these will become more common in the future.

In the vineyards surrounding San Luis Obispo, Vintage 2021 was extreme in its own way – extremely benign and beautiful! Spring weather was mild which influences both the size of the crop, and the pace of the season. Shortly after flowering in late May we knew that we would have larger berries and clusters and that seed counts would be high. Normal summer weather would have led to an early September harvest. Instead, we didn’t begin harvesting until almost October. The average length of time from bloom to harvest locally is 110 days. This year it was 125 days - an extraordinary departure from norm. I have never left seen fruit take so long to reach maturity. Persistent fog and the resultant lack of sunlight was the likeliest cause.

During each growing season, a curious winemaker will speculate about which techniques will need to be employed to get the best out of the year’s unique weather pattern. Spring weather told us that the potential for larger berries could end up making lighter red wines. Saignee or bleeding off of the juice can combat the dilution inherent in large berries. This turned out to be the case and the fermenters which we bled juice from ended up making richer wines.

The larger berries are the result of more complete fertilization, so the average seed count was also high this year. A cautious winemaker worries that the increased number of seeds will add too much of a green character to the flavors, especially if the juice is concentrated by saignee. This fear turned out to be unfounded. The extended season gave the seeds time to fully mature. A fully mature dark brown seed has less green flavor and is also less likely to leach that flavor into the wine.

While fully ripened seeds are a benefit in terms of minimizing green flavors, they are also less able to contribute the tannins needed to stabilize color and add texture and dimension to the palate. Once again, the unprecedented length of the season provided a solution. Here in the Edna Valley stems cannot usually be used to any great degree. They tend to contribute an overly assertive celery and tomato leaf aroma that is more reminiscent of V8 juice than wine. This year the stems while still green in color had lost the strong herbaceous character they normally contain. Whole cluster and stem additions were able to provide the tannins that the seeds could not contribute. Stem tannins are also known to play well with new oak flavors so the barrel aromas should be more integrated than usual this year. These will be exceptional wines in both senses of the word.

As I age into my fifth decade of winemaking I can’t help wondering whenever there is an unusually perfect vintage for Pinot Noir like 2021 whether this one will be my final great vintage. The warming of the seasons since the late ‘80’s has only made me think about it more. Pinot Noir is more sensitive to heat than the other classic reds. I had that feeling about 2018. Knowing as I do that really fine Pinot vintages only come every six to seven years, I thought 2018 might well be my last. It was a delightful surprise to have another excellent Pinot vintage only three years later. I have seen ten years pass without a really fine Pinot vintage so once again with 2021 I have that feeling of wistfulness that this may be a swan song of sorts.

While it is far far too early to make definitive statements about this year’s white wines, I have a strong feeling that like the reds they will be excellent. The generally cool weather helped retain freshness, but the lower amounts of sunlight had an even more beneficial effect. The grapes reached maturity with less direct light on the fruit. The berries therefor produced less of the yellow pigments that result from exposure to strong light. I consider these pigments to be negative in their flavor effects – especially as the wines age. The 2021 white wines should stay fresh and youthful in the bottle longer than average.

Another benefit of an extended ripening period for whites is that it gives the berries time to reach full flavor while they are still at a relatively low sugar. This means that the alcohol of the finished wine can also be on the lower end of the normal range. The structural elements of white wine are subtle or slight you might say, but that doesn’t mean they are unimportant. Wines with lower alcohol also achieve balance at lower acidity so the overall impression on the palate is more elegant.

I’ve found as I’ve gotten more mature as a winemaker that I am far more fascinated by the process of making white wines than reds. White winemaking is so much more about cellar craft than making red wine. You can really see your hand in the finished product, while the red wines speak more loudly of the land and the vintage. I think I also appreciate the coyness or shyness of young whites. They are reluctant to reveal themselves early and much of the winemaking you do on faith that the wine will respond in the ways you desire. I much appreciate the anticipation inherent in waiting for the wines to develop enough for them to really express their personality. Making white wine’s a bit like reading a really long novel where the knowledge of the characters builds slowly. Reds on the other hand are a bit like poetry – it’s all on the page there. It’s up to you to interpret it.