AMR: We are excited about how we “build” tannins in our grapes and wines. Tannins contribute to the texture, flavors and structure of wine. A few days ago we looked at the numerical results of our tannin trials, and then we tasted our 2007 Pinot Noirs made from grapes in those trials.

KJ: In 2006, we started analyzing different grape and wine samples, sending them to the lab to run the values of different types of tannins, like catechins, found in seeds, and anthocyanins, or pigments.

First, we just wanted to establish baseline values - where we were. Our goal was to find out what our personal sweet spots are, in terms of what we consider to be great wine, and determine if there are corresponding tannin sweet spots. So we took a quantitative look at tannins.

AMR: We looked at both vineyard and winery practices to see if, first, we could manipulate the tannin numbers and second, if we liked the wines at higher tannin levels. So we had three different vineyard thinning trials in adjacent rows last year, as we have alluded in previous posts.

First, we had our standard farming practice, which we call “by eye” thinning. We thin fruit so that the canopy is open and in balance and every cluster has its space. Next, we also alternated one and two clusters per shoot - one-two-one-two - which we called “1-1/2.” Third, we thinned to one cluster per shoot.

In each case, we cut fruit back and we experienced different yields.

KJ: The trial was ideal in that all three pruning approaches yielded about the same overall volume (not the same yield per vine, but we had anticipated that) and all three wines were made identically.

With other blocks, we worked with different saigneé (”bleeding off” or removing a small amount of juice to concentrate the must) levels of 0%, 5% and 10% to compare the effect on tannin levels.

Everything came out textbook, as expected. Lower yields produced higher tannins. The higher the percentage of saigneé, the higher the tannins were as well.

AMR: In the tasting, there were between 25 and 30 lots divided into four flights and tasted completely blind. No one knew anything about the wines except that they were our 2007 Pinots.

In one flight consisting of six wine lots, the person setting up the tasting made sure that wines from our vineyard trials were all in that flight together - three out of the six wines. Those of us tasting had no idea which of the four flights they were in. We rated each wine on a ten-point scale, with ten as the highest score.

In general, the scores were very close. The three wines in the vineyard trial scored almost right on top of each other, within a point or two. But the least manipulated wine - the standard “by eye” thinning - was the favorite.

KJ: And the wine with no saigneé was also the favorite. It seemed to be lighter and prettier, whereas those which had been manipulated seemed bigger, but tight and brooding, holding onto their esters and perfume. The winemaking trials produced wider gaps in scoring; the wine made with the 667 Dijon Pinot Noir clone from Nugent Vineyards in the Russian River Valley scored 45 points without a saigneé, and 35 points with 10%.

AMR: It’s interesting to note that our 490 block, which always gives us a major component of our Donum Carneros Estate Pinot, naturally tends toward one cluster per shoot. Because it’s cordon-pruned (vine has long, permanent horizontal arms with multiple spurs), the buds are more shaded and not as fruitful. Because only the first two buds are left per spur after pruning, they develop early but receive less light and heat, so they tend to be more vegetative and less fruitful. In Burgundy, growers often rub off those first buds.

That’s why cane pruning is usually preferred in cool climate areas, because the pruning can be varied. You can adjust and choose the buds you want. Pinot Noir tends to push more than one shoot per bud. With cane-pruned vines, you get more growing points and can eliminate weaker shoots by suckering early in the season to put all the vine’s energy into the remaining shoots.

That said, we leave 490 on the cordon because it naturally produces smaller yields and intense fruit, so we don’t want to mess with it. Ironically, with yields in most blocks down last year, 490 was pretty normal, probably because it flowered better.

The point of all this is that 490 has some of the highest tannin levels of all our lots and it was one of the highest rated lots in the tasting.

KJ: So in this first blind tasting of 2007s, people usually liked the control wines, which were less manipulated.

AM: Yes, they were made in our usual way in the vineyard and seemed more integrated. I believe that what is beautiful about site, or terroir — it is done in the vineyard. Otherwise everyone could make a grand cru wine by manipulation in the cellar.

KJ: You can improve wines in the cellar with some expensive tools.

AMR: Yes, tools can enhance. But they can’t create. Grand cru wines are made in the vineyard and can’t be copied successfully in the lab. I know that we try to be democratic and give every block the chance to grow up and be president, but they are not all created equal. Some are consistently the best, better than their neighboring block that receives the same treatment.

KJ: Yes, but you have also brought the level of farming up on all the blocks and they are all better. Consider the reverse: you can abuse a grand cru site, whether through neglect or greed and over-cropping. All systems must be operating properly, in the vineyard and the winery, to realize the potential of any site, grand cru included.

AMR: That’s true. I know that the grand cru system has been heavily marketed and has some fluff or hype attached to it, but if you strip it all away, there’s still something to it. In general, the model holds true.

So, we know we can intensify tannins, but is some soul missing in the wines?

KJ: Something did seem a little hollow in the middle. But this is only tasting number one of our tannin trials. I was talking to a good friend and fellow winemaker about the necessity of keeping these lots separate through next August. Those higher tannin lots hold onto a lot. They are tight and compacted now, but we need to reserve final judgment until before bottling. In Burgundy, the village barrel samples often taste better and prettier than the grand crus early on.

AMR: You’re correct. It’s one tasting. And once again we refer to the grand cru model.

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