4. Vintage woes
The year proved particularly challenging for winegrowers in both California and Australia.
Various growers told us of their disappointment at their crop – remarks which resulted in some fairly heated debate played out on our own website.
Joel Peterson, founder and winemaker at Ravenswood, spoke out about the “awful” 2011 vintage in California, telling us: “It was the most fungus-filled, botrytis-filled vintage I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been working a long time.”
He added: “The vintage was marked by two rains. The first loaded the gun and the second pulled the trigger.”
According to Peterson, the Bordeaux varieties really suffered. “Napa Cabernet never got ripe; it was a very bad year for Napa and Mendocino. We had to sort our Cabernet and Merlot in the field and crush straight away – I’ve never had to do that before.”
“We lost 40% of our crop to the rains. There will be some awful Cabernets – green, oxidized and botrytized. The quality of 2011 will depend on who sorted well.”
Chardonnay was also badly affected by the rains, with Peterson observing: “Cool climate Chardonnay was a disaster. The skins were floating in the juice after picking. The grapes had turned brown, it was awful.”
Winemakers Dennis Martin at Fetzer and David Graves of Saintsbury both said that 2011 was one of the most challenging years either of them had yet faced.
A late spring and lukewarm summer this year raised concerns, but many hoped that if it did not rain then harvesting in late October or even early November would yield a more attractive crop.
However, storms began on 5 October and hit Sonoma, and Russian River Valley in particular, very hard although other regions escaped lightly.
Two inches of rain fell in Sonoma, whereas Paso Robles further south had less than an inch.
Responding on our website, Daniel Moore wrote: “What about all of the great fruit that was harvested before October 5th? What about all of the great Cabernet that held fine through the rain and is being harvested now? Yes some varietals were hit hard by the rains-yet serious growers and winemakers diligently sorted in the vineyard and the winery. Is it the best vintage of the decade-hardly. Is it ruined- not even close.”
Meanwhile Maria Helm added: “The 2011 vintage was difficult but the plus side is that fruit had a longer cooler ripening time which provided some incredible complexity.
“I am really excited to see what producers will do with this vintage, hopefully we can see some lower alcohols with a touch of herbal character that old world cabernet sauvignons are known for. However, overuse of grape concentrate, sadly, will produce wines with higher alcohol but lack of character. Let’s wait, see and taste what’s in the bottle before we condemn this vintage.”
Meanwhile, in Australia, Treasury Wine Estates chief executive David Dearie expressed concerns over poor-quality and low-priced Australian wine exports off the back of a rain-soaked and high-volume harvest had the potential to do long-term damage to the image of the Australian wine industry.
Justin Knock MW, managing director of the Purple Hand Wine Consultancy, pointed out that almost all grape growing regions suffered record levels of rainfall in 2010/11 which brought high disease pressure and dilution.
He also wrote on our site that it was important to be transparent about the problems faced and that there should be stricter quality controls when it comes to Australia’s bulk wine production.
Not everyone agreed that the Australian harvest was a disaster, however. Kate Giles, business development manager at Byrne & Smith Wines in Adelaide, commented: “Many of the wines produced this vintage are stunning. As in any vintage, there are highs and lows, and perhaps the water and mould factor will have some impact, but to write off the majority of production is unethical and incorrect.”
