Napa Valley Preview – 2012, 2013 and 2014
Napa Valley has been blessed with three back-to-back good to potentially historic vintages at a time when many of the world’s top red wine producing regions have struggled with much more difficult growing conditions. This year I spent over a month in Napa Valley visiting vineyards and wineries, along with doing my most extensive tastings ever of new and future releases. The spring tastings focused mostly on the 2013s, while three full weeks in the fall provided a great opportunity to see a wide range of 2012s from bottle, 2013s from barrel and even a few 2014s. These are a few brief observations. Reviews will be published in late November 2014.
Multimedia: Napa Valley - On the Road
2012 – It's Complicated...
After the challenging 2009, 2010 and 2011 harvests, 2012 was greeted with considerable fanfare. Growers and producers rejoiced in a classic Napa Valley harvest marked by good quality, abundant production and no weather shocks. The temperate, even conditions in the late fall were punctuated by a few heat spikes, but overall, this was a year in which the fruit could be left to hang.
Coming off two cold and lower-yielding vintages, growers naturally had the temptation to leave a little extra fruit on the vine. I remember walking through To-Kalon in late September. In one block I saw tiny bonsai-like, manicured clusters, while the adjacent block was a virtual tapestry of fruit. That is the moment I knew 2012 could turn out to be a highly variable vintage. It was crystal clear.
High yields presented a number of logistical challenges. Tank space was at a premium. Producers were also faced with significant amounts of fruit that ripened within a very narrow window, which stressed the capacity of vineyard workers. That is especially true of outsourced vineyard crews. Who do you think got picked out first? The large estates that are highly profitable clients, or the little guy with just a few blocks?
Rudd Estate on a gorgeous late fall day
Back in the cellar, tank capacity was stretched to the limit. That meant that some fruit was left to hang in the vineyard because wineries had maxed out their ability to process fruit. But the fruit left hanging needed to come in at some point, so producers had to move their wines out of tank and into barrel quickly. That is especially true at custom crush facilities where winemakers agree in advance to the time they will have access to shared tanks.
