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Vintages in CA

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Mary Baker
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Post  Todd F r e n c h Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:34 pm

So, ITB'ers, what's it like for recent vintages? Do I recall correctly that Napa '07 cabs are supposed to be kickin', or was it '07 Pinots...
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Post  Yoni Ovadia Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:39 pm

Todd F r e n c h wrote:So, ITB'ers, what's it like for recent vintages? Do I recall correctly that Napa '07 cabs are supposed to be kickin', or was it '07 Pinots...

And to expand on what Todd said, what about '08? Is it really a bad vintage like I've heard? I was hoping to get some birth year wines for my son from this vintage so any info would be greatly appreciated.
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Post  William Segui Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:58 pm

ITB but not a rat.

I think 08 will be good. Maybe like 06, where there will be winners, but plently of mediocre 'losers' as well. I do not think the vintage was bad, but 07 is the place to be. I think it may ultimately be the vintage of the decade.
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Post  Todd F r e n c h Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:00 pm

William Segui wrote:ITB but not a rat.

I think 08 will be good. Maybe like 06, where there will be winners, but plently of mediocre 'losers' as well. I do not think the vintage was bad, but 07 is the place to be. I think it may ultimately be the vintage of the decade.
There was either '06 or '07 that is supposed to rock the house with Napa cabs - which one?
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Post  Bill Tex Landreth Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:07 pm

Todd F r e n c h wrote:
William Segui wrote:ITB but not a rat.

I think 08 will be good. Maybe like 06, where there will be winners, but plently of mediocre 'losers' as well. I do not think the vintage was bad, but 07 is the place to be. I think it may ultimately be the vintage of the decade.
There was either '06 or '07 that is supposed to rock the house with Napa cabs - which one?

'07 for Napa Cabs.
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Post  Tony V e l e b i l Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:12 pm

My personal opinion and this comes from seeing 06 in barrel and seeing lots of stuff come in 07 from the valley floor, Spring mtn, howell mtn, etc.

06 is one of the best Cab vintages in a long time. Thomas Brown thinks it is the best vintage he's ever had and he made the best wines he's ever made.

07 was a little more hit and miss, again IMO. It was hot early getting everyone riled up about an early harvest so people started picking early, then the weather cooled dramatically and we saw sugar levels drop, then we got a little rain, then cool weather, then rain then a little warmth.

Stuff up on Howell Mtn - looked good, survived the rain, nice concentration. Stuff on Spring Mtn - not as good. More tannic than usual but skins were splitting and it needed to come off. Valley Floor - some ripened well (Beckstoffer ToKalon, Kenefick Ranch) and were very good. Some just not there and came in very mediocre...some of it sort of tasteless.
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Post  Tony V e l e b i l Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:14 pm

Long way of saying...06 excellent. Great concentration, smaller berries. 07 more hit and miss. I would personally taste 07's before buying any of them.

Pinot - everyone is hailing 07 as a terrific vintage. I hope so b/c I am not as big a fan of 05 as most people thought of that vintage. And 06 was similar to 05.
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Post  Mary Baker Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:15 pm

SOO much fruit was lost in '08. You'll be told repeatedly that what WAS picked is stellar. In many cases that will be true, esp. from the pros you are used to hearing from on the boards. Because pinot is picked earlier anyway I am sure most pinot producers are going to have killer stuff, although probably limited quantities. But in many other cases/varieties, wineries pulled the trigger and picked after the last heat stroke, when sugars when highest--a wait through the following cool down would have given them a degree or two less Brix and better development. My advice would be to barrel sample when possible and see what you think.

'07 wasn't at all bad for Paso Robles. We are very, very happy with our '07s, far more than 2006 which was so cold and wet and cold and rainy ... hard to get the pH's up, but opinions may differ. Linda?
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Post  Cris Whetstone Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:19 pm

Mary Baker wrote:SOO much fruit was lost in '08. You'll be told repeatedly that what WAS picked is stellar. In many cases that will be true, esp. from the pros you are used to hearing from on the boards. Because pinot is picked earlier anyway I am sure most pinot producers are going to have killer stuff, although probably limited quantities. But in many other cases/varieties, wineries pulled the trigger and picked after the last heat stroke, when sugars when highest--a wait through the following cool down would have given them a degree or two less Brix and better development. My advice would be to barrel sample when possible and see what you think.

'07 wasn't at all bad for Paso Robles. We are very, very happy with our '07s, far more than 2006 which was so cold and wet and cold and rainy ... hard to get the pH's up, but opinions may differ. Linda?
I heard 08 will be variable with some picking too early and some picking later. Even among the same winery and vineyards.

And I can confirm Justin Smith said something similar in regards to Paso when I asked him about the two vintages.
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Post  C. Bowman Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:02 pm

Todd F r e n c h wrote:So, ITB'ers, what's it like for recent vintages? Do I recall correctly that Napa '07 cabs are supposed to be kickin', or was it '07 Pinots...


I've heard from several winemakers that they think their '07 Napa Cabs are some of the best they've made, I'm looking forward to trying them .

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Post  Terence T-Bone Livingston Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:32 pm

We're just bottling our '07 Pinots from Sta. Rita Hills...pretty impressive wines. Dark, rich, structured, long, good tannins.

We brought in our first '08 PN pick at 23.7 brix, and it had terrific color early on. Still too early to tell, and yes, yields were down about 50 percent from the SB we source out in Happy Canyon (Santa Ynez Valley) due to frost.
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Post  William Segui Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:25 pm

C. Bowman wrote:
Todd F r e n c h wrote:So, ITB'ers, what's it like for recent vintages? Do I recall correctly that Napa '07 cabs are supposed to be kickin', or was it '07 Pinots...


I've heard from several winemakers that they think their '07 Napa Cabs are some of the best they've made, I'm looking forward to trying them .

I have heard the buzz around 07 as well -- but I can also tell you having spent some time with some barrels, the best I've ever had have all come from 07. Seven Stones, Realm ToKalon, Trespass (Cab franc), Schrader, etc. There were some challenges in 07 for sure, but I also think there were some amazing wines made.
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Post  Nate Weis Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:15 pm

2006 & 2007 both seem to be great for Cabernet. In my mind, 2006, at least for the wines I walked into, is a big step up from the 2005. I'm very happy with the 2007 blend, too.

I tasted all the 2008s as well yesterday, and there are some big, mean wines at the moment. Yields were way down up here. Alcohols are higher than in 2007, but still under control.

2007 for Pinot noir & Chardonnay was fantastic. My former boss thought it might have been the best PN vintage he'd seen in 15 years. 2008 was a riper vintage. Those seeking Chablis and red Burg might not be thrilled, but then they never are with CA wines. As long as people avoided figgy, porty and pruny flavors, though, it should turn out to be a pretty decent one....maybe on the level of 2005. The alcohols were similar to 2004, but the wines are constituted differently. I tend to think that '04 was a big hit with the critics, but a lesser hit for winemakers themselves.

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