Americas calling - 2007 - A Difficult Vintage
2007 in the Americas
Sokol Blosser Winery (Oregon, North America)
Contrary to popular belief the Americas do not enjoy unbroken sunshine and heat despite the advent of global warming. Winemakers over the pond, in the same way as their European counterparts have to contend with unexpected bad weather and are also tested by powdery mildew in certain conditions. It is also clear on reading the attached summaries that not all countries in the continent experience the same weather in a year.
Summary
Relatively low temperatures were the feature of the 2007 growing season for this winery, and the big headache this year was the attack of powdery mildew at harvest-time.
The grapes that are the stars of the vintage
This year, the winery has declared that its Pinot Noirs are excellent.
Alex Sokol Blosser gave the following account:
“2007 was our first ‘average’ growing season in terms of heat degree days since 1997 (global warming has produced some very warm years) It was a typical Oregon growing season, powdery mildew was a constant challenge during harvest-time. It was a very good year for Pinot Noir with great acid and structure- superb balance. It will not be a big tannic year, but rather a year with great elegance and finesse- like it used to be here before the weather warmed up”
Viu Manent Winery, (Colchagua Valley, Chile)
Summary
2007 was a trying and exhausting year for the team at Viu Manent.
This winery managed to skilfully coordinate the growing cycle and ripening of the grapes in their various vineyards ( in both their own and in contract vineyards) thanks to the work put in and kilometres travelled put in by their new liaison manager Rene Cabello and by the chief winemaker Grant Phelps.
Weather
The terrible twins of El Nino and La Nina kept the winery on their toes this year.
A cool spring and unseasonable downpours in February ( thanks to El Nino) reduced overall yield this season (down 11% compared to 2006, but the warm Indian summer ( thanks to La Nina) saved the vintage.
The different site locations of Viu Manent’s different vineyards not only require skilful management due to differing soils and differing exposure to the elements, but also they each have their own micro climates which the winery knows how to turn to their advantage.
The star grapes of the vintage
- the Late-harvest Semillon for its concentration
- the Cabernet Sauvignon for its pleasant, “dusty” tannins
- the Syrah with lots of dark berry fruit and spice,
Says Grant Phelps:” 2007 has also produced what may have been our best Syrah to date” “Following on from the exceptional 2006 vintage of the Secreto Syrah will be a hard act to follow but the indications are there that the 2007 edition of this particular wine will be every bit as fine as its predecessors.” – the Malbecfor its lush tannins and ripe, voluptuous fruit and from certain Malbec blocks: for its dark black colour and intense concentration, and its aromas of black fruits, pencil lead, leather, cinnamon and nutmeg. says Grant Phelps, the Carmenere from block 20 at La Capilla.) “looks extremely promising and I am quietly confident that the quality is there to do a limited single vineyard release of this wine.
Here follows in detail Grant’s account of the vintage 2007 at Viu Manent
“Viu Manent’s growing season 2006- 2007 was one of the most interesting not to mention one of the toughest vintages of my now seven vintages in Chile.”
“In the end 2007 will be remembered as a year in which we had the luxury of being able to pick everything when we felt it was ready rather than having to rush because of adverse climatic conditions.
“In summary what began by looking like a difficult harvest was transformed into one of the best years I have ever seen here at Viu.
“ 2007 was an extremely long season - at a total of 84 days from start to finish (not counting the Semillon late-harvest picked in kid-June) what made 2007 truly arduous was a combination of ominous weather pattern predictions at the start of harvest ( I am still considering suing the Chilean meteorological service for psychological stress! Along with a new record in the number of kilometres driven: from Casablanca in the North to Bio-Bio in the South.
“ The 2006 Winter in Colchagua was one of the mildest in recent memory with only three ground frosts recorded between July and August and a minimum temperature of only -2.6° ( recorded at La Capilla). This was accompanied by a normal amount of winter rainfall (680mm). The warmer than average temperatures over Winter combined with good levels of soil moisture resulted in the earliest budburst of any of the past five growing seasons. The first buds to swell and split open to reveal the new green shoots for the coming growing season were those of the Malbec and Syrah vines at El Olivar ( August 15th and 18th, respectively), followed by the Chardonnay and Malbec at San Carlos ( August 19th and 23rd, also respectively). Overall budburst was about nine days earlier than average.
“Following the early budburst we experienced one of the wettest and coldest springs of recent years with a total of 125 mm of rain between mid- September and late October. Spring was characterised by cloudy, windy days with mean daytime temperatures hovering in the mid-teens. The cool weather continued until mid- November with only a handful of days in which temperatures climbed into the mid- 20’s. In spite of the cool weather flowering commenced normally on the 25th October although it took a week longer than usual to finish( ie. 26 days from start to finish compared with 19 days in an average year). In spite of the cool temperatures fruit set and bunch closure appeared normal. The first effects of the cool spring only became apparent in January with the first berries to go through veraison ( of our Malbec vines in El Olivar) beginning to soften and change colour on January 10th 11 days later than usual).
“Although yields varied between grape varieties and between our different vineyards, yields this year were only slightly affected by the cold spring weather, being down about 11% across the board compared with 2006.” “As per usual San Carlos registered the lowest mean daytime temperatures throughout the following season ( from August to May) followed by La Capilla with El Olivar being the overall hottest site site. Temperatures however were only higher at El Olivar from spring until early summer (August to December). From December until May La Capilla registered the highest monthly mean temperatures ( these being the most important months for ripening) which clearly shows why this site consistently produces our best Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon (both our latest-ripening varieties). As per usual January was the hottest month in Colchagua. Mean maximum daily temperatures were lowest at San Carlos, followed by El Olivar with La Capilla recording the highest overall maximum temperatures. To summarise this was ideal for ripening as temperatures mostly hovered around the 30°mark without too many extreme temperature events. Climatic predictions for the coming vintage began ominously in September of 2006 with the detection of elevated water temperatures in the Eastern Pacific Ocean thus heralding the beginning of an ‘El Nino’ weather pattern. Depending on who you believe this may have been responsible for the cool weather in spring but was almost certainly culprit behind an unseasonal downpour of 42 mm in Colchagua on February 16th. Things looked grim indeed for the coming vintage until it was confirmed on February 28th that the Nino pattern had dissipated having been replaced by la Nina which typically makes for an ‘Indian summer’ ( that is to say a long, dry autumn) here in Chile. Indeed the only other precipitation experienced before harvest finished on June 12th was a small rainfall on 30th April which at 2.5mm was too small to inflict any damage on the quality of the harvest.
“Although on average harvest began around 3 weeks later than normal ( as was the case in 2006), the long, dry, hot autumn gave the grapes the additional time they needed to achieve optimum ripeness.” “In the end 2007 will be remembered as a year in which we had the luxury of being able to pick everything when we felt it was ready rather than having to rush because of adverse climatic conditions.
The Viu Manent whites
the downpour on 16th February in Colchagua maared the harvesting in Colchagua, 3 days before we harvested the first of the Sauvignon Blanc for our varietal line whilst the rain obliged us to drop around 10% of the crop in order to eliminate any bunches which had started to develop botrytis- it didn’t have any noticeable effect on quality. In line with previous years, harvest was carried out between February 19th and 27th and ultra-cool fermentations ( as low as 8°C!) helped to retain fruit aromas”
“ With the first of the 2007 varietal Sauvignon Blanc already in bottle I would suggest that this will be one of the best years ever for this wine as natural acidities were higher this year than ever before (no doubt directly attributable to the cool spring) resulting in an amazing fresh, clean, fruit-driven style.” The big news in the Sauvignon camp is that in 2007 for the first time ever the Reserve Sauvignon Blanc was not sourced from our vineyards here in Colchagua. Instead grapes were sourced from the very cool climate Leyda Valley. Unlike Colchagua, Leyda was unaffected by the pre-harvest rain and cool spring temperatures ( in fact it was an average year in Leyda). The result of this was an unusually early Leyda harvest in general although, as per our policy of optimising freshness in the wines, we were one of the first wineries to pick in the valley ( on March 10th). The resulting wine is a very food- friendly style with notes of sweet herbs (rosemary and sage) and white pepper on the nose. In the mouth this wine shows marked notes of nectarine, white peach and quince accompanied by mineral notes with just a hint of salinity. As was the case last year we have once again sourced grapes from the ultra cool Casablanca Valley for our Secreto Sauvignon Blanc
Similar in style to the 2006 version this wine is once again intensely fresh on the nose with notes of kiwi, green nectarine and white peach.
“2007 saw yet another year of low production for our Varietal Chardonnay here at San Carlos ( cropping naturally at 8.5 tonnes per hectare). The cool spring weather also delayed harvest by three weeks with harvest being carried out in the last week of March. Once again the grapes were machine harvested at night to minimise juice temperature and thus oxidisation. Following 12 hours of maceration at 8°C, 90% of the juice was cold fermented in stainless steel with selected yeasts, with the remaining 10% warm fermented at 22- 23°C in 2nd and 3rd use oak barrels. the termination to the end of the ripening cycle combined with the afore-mentioned low crop loads has resulted in a wine with very good concentration and focussed citrus flavours combined with good spice and mineral notes.
“The Viognier Secreto was once again hand harvested on March 29th) and the grapes whole-bunch pressed in order to minimise phenolic pick-up. This was followed by five days of cold settling and a cool fermentation in stainless steel. The finished wine is tighter and steelier than some of the previous editions showing predominantly mineral, green stone fruit at this stage, as has been the case previously for this wine I would expect it to improve with 12 months of bottle ageing.
“The grapes for the Chardonnay Reserve 2007 were once again harvested from our contract grower at the warm eastern end of the Casablanca Valley on the 9th and 10th April . As has previously been the case, fermentation was carried out in French oak barrels (with a total of 35%new oak. Batonnage has been carried out on a weekly basis once the completion of fermentation ( in order to flesh out the mid- palate and impart some mealy complexity to the wine). Once again there was no malolactic fermentation carried out - the objective continuing to be a focussed mineral style without the distraction of buttery notes which often come from malo.
“The heavy rain of February resulted in the best early botrytis infection of our 40+ year-old Semillon vines that I had ever seen here at Viu. The presence of morning mists during the latter part of April and all of May further helped the slow spread of noble rot- the result being some nicely concentrated fruit on the 11th and 12th June. At 11.7°Alc. and 197 grams of residual sugar the 2007 version of our Late Harvest is more concentrated than the now legendary 2004 which took out trophies at both national competitions here in 2006). Whilst it has only recently finished fermenting (March 2008) the raw material is there for another stunning wine- all that is required now is some time for it to rest in barrel and thus achieve some extra complexity.
Viu Manent Reds
“Important changes in the red programme took place both in the vineyard and in the winery in 2007. In the vineyard the coordination of our viticultural team, lead by Miguel Mujica and Jorge Perez, was more impressive than ever. Crop loads and canopies were well managed at all three of our own vineyards and Rene Cabello our grower liaison also did a fine job in coordinating management at our various contract growers’ vineyards. On the winemaking side of the equation I spent more time in any previous vintage on the road visiting our vineyards and growers in order to synchronise harvest with optimum ripeness levels. The primary objective here was to wait until seed tannins had become completely ripe and then to pick as soon as possible in order to avoid the jammy, over-ripe flavours so typical in Chile which often rob the wines of their personality ( and which also tends to impart a soapy structure to the wines due to high PH’s. Whilst it is still early days- ( with most components still going through malolactic fermentation as I write this; at the two classification tastings held thus far in late May and early July) the Viu winemaking team has so far rated more components as being of Reserve and single vineyard quality than ever before.
“2007 was remarkable in that it is the first year we have achieved such balance with our Malbec blocks at El Olivar ( our youngest Malbec vineyard). Although planted in the year 2000, Malbec is always very difficult to manage whilst young and tends to produce erratically until it has a few years under its belt. The results of this year have convinced me that the growing pains of these blocks are effectively over, because in 2007, for the first time, we achieved truly balanced wines cropping at an average of 9 tonnes per hectare. Ripening was uniform throughout the six blocks at this site with virtually no problems with “raisining” a constant factor in previous years at this site). The result has been some exceptionally concentrated wines with lush tannins and voluptuous, ripe fruit flavours ( think Pamela Anderson only in a much darker coloured bathing suit).
“The Malbec at San Carlos was, as always, perfectly in balance. Although it is still early days: one or two components from our oldest block ( Block 4) have already been tentatively ear-marked for Viu 1. The remainder of this block of old vine Malbec along with another block ( its neighbour block 5) is currently in new French barrels with the intention of blending them together in another 12 months or so to make our single vineyard Malbec for 2007. As per usual these two particular blocks have produced Malbec which is quite simply black and with amazing concentration. Dark berry fruit and bramble abound on the nose along with leather and pencil lead notes accompanied by just a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg.
“A major project this winter has also been to improve block 6 at our San Carlos vineyard. While this block was planted at about the same time as block 5 ( roughly 60 years ago- it has always been a mixed plantation of about 45% Malbec combined with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon. The problem previously has been managing this block effectively as the two grape varieties require very different management strategies.
“Another major problem has been the uneven soil type in this particular block which often led to parts of the block being completely lost due to raisining. This winter our vineyard staff have been busy with a chainsaw cutting the cabernet vines off at the trunk, and as I write this a team of contractors are busy grafting these trunks to a selection of canes from our healthiest Malbec plants from blocks 4 and 5. Also prior to grafting we carried out an intensive soil study which has led us to leaving 0.3 ha fallow as it was decided that it was not suitable for replanting with Malbec. Whilst it will be a couple of years before this block is once again producing at normal level the benefit will be another fully functional Malbec on our best soils with some of our oldest vines and I would hope that in another 4 or 5 years Block 6 will be producing wine of sufficient quality for us to use it in our single vineyard blend effectively doubling our production of this cult wine.
“2007 has also produced what may have been our best Syrah to date. At El Olivar an exacting harvest was carried out according to vigour levels in the vineyard (as identified by aerial photography with infra-red imaging) with moderate vigour sections of the vineyard harvested separately from low and high vigour zones. In the winery the Syrah was destemmed and crushed and then subjected to an individual berry selection on the sorting table (something previously reserved only for the Cabernet and Malbec single vineyard wines along with the Viu 1). The goal of all this dedication was to produce our first ever Single Vineyard Syrah from El Olivar Although it is early days yet and despite a small production of only 1,500 cases) I am optimistic that, given the requisite 16 months of barrel-ageing we will achieve the quality necessary in order to release this wine under the ‘Single Vineyard’ moniker.
“Similarly, the Syrah components from El Olivar and San Carlos destined for the Syrah Secreto blend are also looking very promising with lots of dark berry fruit and spice. Following on from the exceptional 2006 vintage will be a hard act to follow but the indications are there that the 2007 edition of this particular wine will be every bit as fine as its predecessors.
“2007 also appears to have delivered the Carmenere goods. As for the Syrah, we picked a small volume of grapes ( once again individual berry selection in the winery)- the intention being to produce a small volume (500 cases) of Single Vineyard Carmenere from block 20 at La Capilla. Currently this wine is resting in new French oak barrels but looks extremely promising and I am quietly confident that the quality is there to do a limited release of this wine.
“This year we also harvested the first grapes from our new Carmenere blocks at El Olivar, whilst it was the first year of production from very young vines the quality is already surprisingly good leading me to believe that as early as next year these vines could lend their touch to the Reserve and Secreto wines.
“In another first for Viu Manent we also vinified a small lot of Pinot Noir purchased from a grower in the extreme southern viticultural region of Bio Bio this year with the intention of releasing this under the Secreto umbrella. Once again this wine is currently in barrel and still undergoing malolactic fermentation but indications are good for a January release of this wine.
“After a difficult year in 2006 in La Capilla due to spring frosts, the Cabernet Sauvignon from this vineyard bounced back in 2007 producing a moderate 8t/ha with nicely balanced vines and excellent ripeness. As per the Syrah harvest at El Olivar, harvesting was carried out according to vine vigour based on aerial photographs of the vineyard. All Cabernet Sauvignon from La Capilla this year was subjected to the full selection process in the winery along with bleeding off 15% of the juice in the vats in order to increase the skin: juice ratio in the tanks thereby increasing concentration. At this stage the most remarkable thing about these wines is their tannin structure- never before have I seen such dusty, mouth-filling tannins in a Cabernet from Colchagua something which reminds me more of Cabernet from the Stags Leap district in the Napa Valley). As in other years fruit concentration is excellent (with an emphasis on cassis and blueberry). Accompanied by characteristic notes of eucalyptus and sweet herbs. And on that note I will wrap the vintage report for another year with our traditional adieu “Salud con V inos Viu!”
Bodega Salentein ( Mendoza, Argentina)
Summary
Bodega Salentein had entirely acceptable weather in this growing season, even the rains during the spring caused no harm because the water drained away thanks to the permeable stony soil of the Uco Valley. The winery has classified their year 2007 as “extremely memorable”, in particular for the reds whose colours and body are “fabulous”.
Laureano Gomez writes: “The 2007 vintage from the Valle de Uco offers a sumptuous expression of this distinctly Argentinian terroir.
“The growing season in the Valle de Uco began in 2006 with a mild winter, which provided a perfect beginning for plant growth. Winter pruning was carefully adjusted to balance fruit production with weather conditions for full maturity of the grapes. Budding was gradual and abundant. The spring brought good fruit formation, particularly for Malbec grapes. The complete maturity of the fruit was promoted by cloudy days coupled with sporadic rains, which helped to lengthen the ripening cycle, encouraging moderate and sugar and alcohol content and preserving the fruit colour. The permeable stony soil of the valley allowed drainage of the late-season rain, which prevented damage to the grapes. Cooler temperatures close to harvest- time also contributed to the final slow ripening of the fruit.
“Harvest at Bodegas Salentein began with the picking of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc grapes for the “winemaker’s selections”. With these white grapes, the winemaker seeks a balance between freshness, character and good body to support the short stage of fermentation in barrels. For the Salentein Reserve wines, grapes are left longer on the vine during harvest-time, until a mineral quality evolves at full ripeness. For the red wines, harvest begins with Pinot Noir, which this year has the look of bright and lively cherries. In the barrel it shows its delicate character, which is gentle yet complex. The Merlot wines are voluptuous, with typical red colour but somewhat blacker than just red. The aroma of spices is reminiscent of freshly ground white pepper. The Malbecs are deep purple almost black wines and feature very pleasant tannins indicative of softer and shorter barrel-ageing. The great surprise comes with the Cabernet Sauvignon, with a high intensity of colour that features blackish and violet nuances, it is both rounded and spicy on the palate. Without a doubt, the highlights of the Alto Uco Calley in 2007 are the intense colours of the red wines. The depth of their colours and variety of hues provide one of the attractive features of tasting. Their luscious colours are matched, too, by an excellent full-bodied taste that makes this an extremely memorable vintage.”