The 2016 vintage in Oregon’s Willamette Valley was one of the earliest on record, with the pick getting started in August. How did the early harvest affect the wine styles this year? And how is the renowned Willamette Pinot Noir shaping up this vintage? We asked three winemakers from three different AVAs (Dundee Hills, Eolo-Amity, Ribbon Ridge) that we visited in Oregon to give us their overall thoughts and impressions on the 2016 vintage. Here’s what Jason Lett (Eyrie Vineyards), Ben Casteel (Bethel Heights) and Michael Etzel (Beaux Freres) had to say:
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Vintage Interview: Jason Lett, Eyrie Vineyards (Dundee Hills AVA)
How would you characterise the 2016 harvest compared to recent vintages?
2016 was a similar to other recent warm-ish vintages, like 2012 and 2008. The big difference for 2016 was when the growing season started and ended. It’s almost like the entire growing season was transposed back a month. April was very much like a typical May, where as October felt much more like the rainy November that normally marks the end of our growing season.
Although it’s a little early to make any kind of deep assessment of the vintage, one thing that is certainly obvious at this early stage is dark color in the Pinot Noir, and even in the Pinot Meunier that we picked with you. The reds are also marked by darker fruits, light to chewy tannins, and high total acidities. Jamminess is fortunately not a widespread issue in the vintage, at least for us. Even in neutral barrels, the wines are acting precocious; there is a toasty component across many of the parcels that sets off the fresh fruit in an attractive manner.
Chardonnay is still completing it’s wild ferment in barrel but even under the residual sweetness they are showing off a core of austerity.
Credit for the unusual dark color and high acidities, I feel, is due to our relatively cool and rainy July. While this had the downside of encouraging powdery mildew, it also extended the ripening. And, more importantly, it protected the pigments and tannins from the damage of intense midsummer sun.
One thing that will be true of 2016 is that growers got to choose when they picked, rather then the weather choosing when they would pick. So what you will see from Oregon in this vintage are the wines that the winemaker wants to make. It’s probably a good idea to expect a wide range of expression from the vintage, from winemaker to winemaker.
What were the greatest challenges for the vineyard and winemaking in 2016?
The greatest grower challenge for the vintage was the high mildew pressure midsummer. In fact some less conscientiously–managed vineyards were a complete loss. We were able to bring in a very clean vintage, thanks to some rigorous cluster and berry thinning early on.
The challenge for the winemaker in a warm vintage is to pick at the right time to be able to obtain a natural balance in the wine. The search for good natural acidity lead us to begin the pick on our earliest date ever: August 23rd. However, we also had fruit that wasn’t ready until mid October. So 2016 has been one of our longest harvests in history as well.
Which wines or varieties do you think will be exceptional (or above average) in 2016?
I am especially excited about the wines sourced from older vines, because they have a natural poise that isn’t easily perturbed by unusual circumstances like those we experienced in this vintage. So our older Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines really put on a show this year. We also did some experiments with whole cluster fermentation that came out exceptionally well, so it was a good year for that too.
Which varieties suffered most (will be below average) in 2016?
I think any of our varieties can suffer in a warm vintage if picked too late. However, that is the fault of the winemaker, not the vintage.
Vintage Interview: Ben Casteel, Bethel Heights (Eolo-Amity Hills AVA)
How would you characterise the 2016 harvest compared to recent vintages?
2016 was defined by how early everything started. A warm winter kicked off the earliest bud break, flowering, and veraison we have ever seen at Bethel Heights, aided by early rains and a warm growing season. It is the first vintage we have ever picked grapes in August and finished picking before October. The easy comparisons are to our most recent warm vintages of 2014 and 2015, but by heat accumulation it’s cooler than both, looking fairly similar to 2006.
What was the greatest challenge for winemakers and agronomists this year?
The greatest challenge in the vineyard was mildew pressure. July was fairly humid for Oregon, so the timing of sprays was critical. We also had a very uneven set due to rainfall during bloom, so crop management was very much a “case by case” scenario. In the winery, our biggest challenge was timing of picking. In hot years we worry about berry desiccation, and we have several small rain events in September that allowed for “rehydration” in the field, but you never know exactly how much rain is coming. We were lucky, and our gambling with the rain paid off on may of our later picks, with the grapes coming in with fully mature flavors but without high sugars.
What wines do you think will be exceptional (or above average) from the 2016 vintage? And which suffered the most?
I think 2016 will produce exceptional wines of both colors. Our Chardonnays are just finishing up fermenting and early returns suggest some of the best quality we’ve seen in whites since 2013. Older vines Pinot Noir have the richness to reflect a warm growing season but also balance, with good acidity for aging.
Mildew pressure caused some reduced yield in Chardonnay, so we didn’t make as much as we would have hoped. Some of our younger vine Pinot Noir came in a bit riper than I would have liked and produced very darkly colored, concentrated wines. Not everyone would consider this “suffering”, but we strive for wines of elegance and purity, and it unfortunately can be a tall order in a season defined by heat.
Can you characterize the vintage in terms of wine style?
The 2016 wines certainly feel the part of a warm vintage, so I think comparisons to 2015 are apt. A smaller crop and decreased berry size contributed to more potential tannin, and this was also true in 2015. An interesting thing about this vintage that I can’t recall from another warm year is that, due to uneven weather at bloom, we had a wide spread of ripeness and hang time. We have some light, pure, and elegant wines in the cellar and others that are much richer and brooding. Typically the challenge in a warm vintage is making sure the wines don’t all end up at the same destination i.e. high alcohol, monochromatic wines and I feel given the diversity we’re seeing in barrel, I feel we managed it well.
Vintage Interview: Michael Etzel, Beaux Freres (Ribbon Ridge AVA)
How was the 2016 harvest compared to recent vintages?
2016 harvest was the earliest harvest in my 25 years of growing grapes. We started picking with sugars in the low 20’s brix and finished with mid 20’s brix.
What was challenging about this year’s vintage?
The biggest challenge was to keep the sugars from climbing too high. Over all the fruit was very clean and healthy.
What will the wines from 2016 be like?
Grape acids where a bit low but the tannins from seeds and skins perfect. The wines therefore have good ripe tannin structure to carry the soft ripe juice. Fermentations were good, no sulfide production, no stuck ferments, with good color extraction for the skins. 2014, 2015, and now 2016 are all similar vintages and only time will reveal their true differences.
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