Focus on California's North Coast

Whatever happened to global warming? This spring’s coverage of California’s North Coast is chock full of tasting notes on the best 2005 Napa cabs from bottle, but also addresses vintage 2006 in considerable detail and includes an early look at a few 2007s. All things considered, these were moderate growing seasons that for the most part avoided the serious heat spikes that had affected earlier vintages this decade. (By some accounts, total degree days in North Coast wine regions during the growing season had risen steadily from 1998 through 2004, but the pattern was snapped in a big way in 2005.) Generalizations about climate, however, mask some important regional differences in ’05 and ‘06. Both of these growing seasons featured relatively cool spring weather, with more—and later—rainfall than usual in most areas. (In 2004, by contrast, a weather station in Oakville recorded barely two inches of precipitation between the end of February and the beginning of October.) But then, except for a sharp hot spell in the second half of July of 2006, both years enjoyed temperate summer conditions. As a rule, the harvests were late and leisurely, and the better growers brought in ripe fruit with more moderate levels of potential alcohol than in hot years like 2004, 2003 and 2002, when September heat spikes accompanied by parching winds from the east had sent sugars skyrocketing and often resulted in dehydration of the grapes before flavors and tannins were fully ripe.

Crop levels in Napa Valley were generally quite copious in 2005, and those who did not take steps to control yields often struggled to get their fruit thoroughly ripe and ultimately made thin or even tart wines. On the other hand, many Sonoma Coast vineyards close to the ocean were hit hard by cold, wet weather during the flowering and lost upwards of 50% of their crop, with pinot noir generally affected more than chardonnay. The resulting wines can be superb, but quantities are often low. In some marginal spots where the weather was especially cool in September, growers had to let their fruit hang well into October to get it ripe. The same can be said for the later-ripening varieties in some mountain vineyards on the Napa side. But as a general rule, the long growing season resulted in wines with density, vibrancy and complexity—wines with the balance for a slow and positive evolution in bottle.