2014 Red Blend Occam's Razor

Billo Naravane told me that the growing season of 2015 was the warmest on record, but emphasized that the fruit still enjoyed decent hang time. “Flowering, veraison and harvest were all ahead of schedule,” he told me, adding that he nonetheless picked Cabernet Sauvignon into mid-October. And he also took steps to slow down the ripening, including hedging one-third of the canopy “but not the part over the fruit.” Crop loads for the red grapes were typically in the range of 2 to 2-1/2 tons per acre, as Naravane continued to drop crop through the end of August. “The risk in 2015 is that a lot of wines have high alcohol but lack complexity,” he summarized.

I was hoping to shoot some video with the multitalented Naravane at the end of our late-afternoon tasting, but a freakish windstorm knocked out the power in his winery and plunged us into darkness just as we were tasting the last wine.