On a recent trip to Oregon, I tasted two radically different Pinot Noirs. One I loved, the other not so much. But what was the difference? Both came from the same winemaker, using grapes from the same place. And then the light bulb switched on. The only difference was the vintage, that is, the year in which the grapes were harvested. My curiosity piqued, I chatted with Scott Shull, founder and head winemaker at Raptor Ridge Winery and President Emeritus of The Chehalem Mountain Winegrowers Association in Oregon to find out why it’s important to know a thing or two about vintages, especially when it comes to Oregon wines.
Q: Tell me a bit about the impact of weather on grapes.
A: It depends on the grape as some are more sensitive than others. Regardless, things like big climate shifts and unseasonably heavy rains can impact all grapes. If you have a grape that does well in cool climates and suddenly it gets unusually hot, the grapes can lose their acidity and get flabby. If there are unexpected levels of rain, the water can dilute the juice and in some instances the grapes can swell up and burst.
Q: Are some grapes better suited to specific climates than others?
A: Yes. Grapes such as Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Chardonnay are better suited to cool climates. Cool climates are generally above the 45th parallel and include both Burgundy and Alsace in France, New Zealand, The Okanagan Valley in Canada, the Finger Lakes region in New York and the northern Willamette Valley. Grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Grenache are better suited to warm climates.
Q: The Willamette Valley is known for Pinot Noir. Are Pinot Noir grapes more sensitive to temperature swings than other grapes?
A: Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned grape–literally. So it can sunburn and bruise and desiccate more easily than other varieties. Also, Pinot can ripen very quickly in a warm climate. By this I mean the grapes can develop sugar and drop acidity, which can result in wine that is out of balance.
Q: Are weather swings more pronounced in some wine-growing regions than in others? If so, what regions have the most variety?
A: I think every growing region is prone to its share of unsettled weather, so I would not single out the Willamette Valley for a larger variety of weather. But with our lower number of degree growing days each vintage in the Willamette Valley runs the risk of not fully ripening the crop before the fall rains come. ( SB note: “degree days” indicate of the number of days above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. For reference Napa has roughly 40% more degree growing days than the Willamette Valley.) It’s this slow, gentle ripening at the margins of where viticulture is possible that makes a wine-growing region interesting and makes its wines even more so!
Q: What can you tell me about the temperatures in Oregon vineyards in the recent past? Which were the warm years and which the cool years?
A: Unseasonably hot years included 2009, 2014 and 2015. Cooler years were 2010 and 2011.
Q: What about 2012 and 2013?
A: 2012 was a balanced vintage with plenty of warmth and tremendous diurnal shifts (meaning warm days and cold nights) which helped keep the grapes from ripening too quickly and maintained the acidity in the grapes.
2013 started off as a warm vintage and as the grapes were reaching optimum ripeness and half had been harvested, the skies opened up and dumped multiple inches of water on the Willamette Valley for three days. Then the sun came out and dried everything up. So the grapes that were harvested before the rains were solid, but the quality of the grapes harvested afterward really depended on the skills of the viticulturist. There were some great wines produced, but in some instances vineyards needed to harvest suboptimal grapes just for economics’ sake and it’s fair to say that a lot of bulk juice and low-end wine was produced that year.
Q: Can you give me an idea of what Oregon Pinot Noirs from the warm years taste like versus wines from the cool years?
A: The wines from warm vintages present themselves as generous, overt, big and lush with darker fruit flavors. They tend to be higher in alcohol, which, when the wine is made by a skilled winemaker, can create viscosity and a thick silkiness. With a less skillful winemaker the wines can get out of balance and create a sensation of burning. Wines with greater alcohol tend to evolve from the hand of the winemaker versus the hand of God.
Also, in warm years the acids have largely ripened out of the fruit. So while they can be crowd pleasers, they may not age well. When you get wines from warm years they are generally ready to drink as soon as they hit the store shelves.
Cooler vintages create higher acids, which means you don’t get the amplitude and depth of flavors until time as passed. These wines age well as they are still resolving themselves and are becoming better integrated. They can develop complexity and nuance after laying down in the cellar for 3-4 years. But if you drink these wines right away they could be described as lean, tight (in terms of not giving up a lot of flavor expressions), bright and tasting of wild cherry.
Save the Date
So there you have it, folks. When possible, it pays to know a bit about the vintage of the wine you are buying. That way, you can figure the characteristics of the year into your purchases based on your palate preferences. Let’s use Oregon Pinots as an example: If you like bigger, lush wines and want immediate gratification, get your hands on wines from 2014 or 2015. Don’t mind taking a risk? Try a bottle from 2013. Like a little more lightness and acidity? Go for a 2010 or 2011. Or if you are a patient soul, lay down the 2010 and 2011 for a few years and see what happens.
In our next blind tasting, the Wine Tribe will see if we can taste the impact of weather on Pinots. We’ll be sampling five different wines—Pinot Noirs from 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014—all from Scott’s winery, Raptor Ridge. In essence, we’re removing all variables but the vintage—same 15 acres of land and same winemaker. I’m excited to taste the differences and report back to you. Cheers!
Vintage Wine Cork photo credit to Frank Tschakert