The 2010 vintage will probably be recalled as a wet one, given that showers occurred during each of the spring months and on into May. While total rainfall actually falls into the “normal” range, the frequency of the rains loomed large and created an annoyance by encouraging weed growth and rot so that growers had to respond with more vineyard floor and canopy management. The cool spring delayed flowering and produced modest crop sets.

If March, April and May were cool months, so were June, July and even August – until the final week. After a summer of seemingly endless 75° to 80° F. days, the end of August brought a blast of heat during which a practically unheard of 105° F. day was recorded in Carneros. Even with this heat spike, August was as cool on average as July. That situation proved problematic. The sudden heat had a damaging effect on berries that had known only moderate temperatures and had been exposed when leaf canopies were thinned. Those of us growers who did not open up the south sides of rows were fortunate to avoid such physical damage.

I found it fascinating that some neighbors with animals – chickens and rabbits   — reported losses during the sudden onslaught of heat. Our grapevines apparently were not the only life forms not acclimated to high temperatures that paid a price.

Growers did a lot of nail biting in September as storms threatened, bringing to mind the heavy rains of the previous vintage, and then failed to materialize. With fruit hanging at only 21° Brix, there really was no option to pick, anyway.

Warm weather finally returned at the end of the month and lasted longer than predicted – five days rather than three. Four days were in the high 90s and one day touched 100, enough to kick-start the harvest in Carneros.

We picked most of our fruit during the first week of October. The long hang time and thorough ripening produced excellent intensity. Knowing the season would be late, we had thinned fruit more heavily than usual, making sure clusters weren’t touching in anticipation of possible rains.

One pleasant surprise was that the vintage produced less expression of virus in affected vines. We kept a close eye on leaf water pressure readings, especially where there is virus. I don’t believe stress is a positive. I don’t like luxurious conditions, but neither do I want to interrupt continuity in those vines.

Another wonder of the vintage:  we achieved good sugars, in the 24.5° to 26° Brix range, but none over the top. And while we did some additional sorting on the vine, in the vineyard and in the winery, rot was not an issue as it was in another cool season, 2006. We had some raisiny berries on clusters that were really exposed, but that was only on the surface and it varied from site to site. Overall, the wines are very solid with nice chemistry – good acidity, pH and ripeness at moderate alcohol levels.

On Monday of this week, I tasted our Pinot Noirs, which have yet to go through malolactic fermentation and are still showing beautiful baby fat. When the sweetness and fermentation bouquets are gone, these wines will become adolescents, and some will retain an awkwardness and angularity into young adulthood, while others will develop finesse more rapidly. Sounds like a parent’s perspective!

Will these wines be as good as the wonderful 2009 Pinots? It’s very possible, but at this early juncture, I simply don’t know. I do know that we as growers worried a lot more this year. This was a vintage that demanded attention, and we had to listen carefully despite a lot of background noise.

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