A Vintage Personality!

Every growing season creates a wine with a personality born of the elements. “Bad” vintages are no more. Advances in knowledge, technique and technology, not to mention Napa’s advantageous climate, have done away with the scandalous vintages of years past.

The basic character of a wine is sculpted by heat summation, modified by weather extremes (heat spikes, rain, cold snaps, drought) and defined by a vigneron’s timing. Since Pinot Noir is a transparent variety (whereby anything that occurs during the growing season appears in the finished wine), it is arguably the ideal conduit for capturing the essence of a year in a bottle. Some winemakers, like Jeff Virnig, embrace the vintage eccentricities of Pinot Noir while others utilize technology to mask the character of the year to fit a consistent taste and texture profile.

Pinot Noir is, by nature, a delicate, thin-skinned grape, demanding full attention in vineyard and cellar to realize the potential of the vintage. However, there is a difference between being attentive and being manipulative. Recent trends encourage winemakers to manipulate Pinot Noir, maximizing extraction in a quest to make a powerful statement. I argue that other grapes are better suited to this power struggle than Pinot Noir… Syrah, Zinfandel and some of the Bordeaux varieties come to mind. Pinot Noir’s strength is its ability to create a delicately complex wine that expresses the character of the grape, vineyard and vintage while maintaining its culinary flexibility.

Pinot Noir put the “geek” in “wine geek.” It is a wine of minutiae where every detail elucidates character. To celebrate the geeks of the world, this booklet is dedicated to two vintages of Pinot Noir from one vineyard, along with an attempt to explain cause and effect. There is no “right” answer, but each fact should shed some light on the character created by vintage.

Tasting Notes

Bright, saturated ruby color gives way to a thin clear rim by the edge of the glass. Bright red fruit and forest floor aromas presage deep flavors of cherries and winter spices nestled in a luxe texture. Well-developed, fine tannins and bright acidity provide the sort of balance and structure that will allow many years, if not decades, of enjoyment. It only hints of its potential now, baring just the first bit of skin in a very slow striptease.

Winegrowing Notes

The Three Amigos Vineyard was planted to heirloom selections beginning in 1982. All of RSV’s vineyards are certified organic and were farmed Biodynamically, though Biodynamic certification was not official until 2007. Hierlooms tend to be later ripening and maintain their acidity better than modern French clones.

2007 marked the start of the drought years and resulted in smaller berries and lighter clusters. Bud break started mid-March and finished in a little over two weeks. Harvest occurred the last week of August through the first week of September. Early bud break, a mild summer and hot weather around Labor Day made for an almost ideal growing season, though drought conditions lowered yields. The tiny yield resulted in a more concentrated character with higher levels and “spicier” fruit suggesting this wine can age longer and/or benefit from decanting. The higher acidity, lower pH and lower alcohol of this vintage suggests this wine will appear tighter knit, dryer and more structured resulting in a wine that will have the potential to age longer and pair better with higher fat foods like lamb and duck.

Duck, Duck, Goose…

Duck, Duck, Goose was a favorite game of mine from long, long ago. Running in a dizzying circle, lungs bursting, trying to catch the friend that tagged me, grasping for anything, the loose arm of a sweater, a ponytail, anything at all so I would not be IT.

I’ve radically changed the game this incarnation. It involves no running or gasping for breath, just a keen sense of adventure in the kitchen, the ability to grasp a glass of wine and enjoy a well-prepared meal… or three.

The 2006 Three Amigos Vineyard Pinot Noir is on the cusp of developing a nice bottle patina. It is well-structured with supple tannin, good acidity and moderate alcohol for a “drink now” food wine. Whereas, the 2007 Three Amigos Vineyard Pinot Noir is still showing its bold, youthful, brashness. The brightness of this wine will slice through the richness of a fine, fat goose.

Play around. Start with one and finish with the other. Snack on Duck and Scallion Pancakes while putting the finishing touch on the goose. It’s a new way to play a very old game.

Until the next wine
Maria