June 4
Merlot
Spring is turning to summer and our Soda Canyon Ranch is well into bloom. The sweet and delicate grape flower aromas perfume the vineyard air. The vegetative growth rate is at its peak and will begin to slow as vines focus more energy on berry development. We just finished our first suckering pass (the removal of extra shoots) and petiole analysis will take place soon. We are on track for an early September harvest.
In the winery, the first racking of our 2008 Merlot is in full swing. One of the unique aspects of the Twomey Merlot is our use of the soutirage traditional racking technique. It is a very gentle technique which helps preserve the aromatics and encourages soft and supple tannins. This is our first chance to assess the 2008 since being put to barrel. The oak is just beginning to integrate with the young wine as the aromatics become more complex and the tannins begin to smooth. This was a challenging vintage due to frost damage in some of our vineyard blocks, but the wine is showing its resiliency and character. It is still young, but showing itself to be an elegant yet robust Merlot.
~ Rob Schwartz, Assistant Winemaker
Pinot Noir
Although the weather continues to be unpredictable, we have some very well balanced vines with healthy crops with a developed canopy capable of ripening the fruit evenly and without disease. We have been working tirelessly to open up the canopies to allow some dappled light onto the fruit but with enough leaf coverage to prevent sunburn. Pinot is such a delicate mistress; she needs cool conditions with gentle sunshine to caress he thin skins and to promote rich intoxicating aromatics.
We are in the home stretch of the growing season and at the business end of flavor and aromatic development. The crop yield is being adjusted to eliminate any clustering of bunches in the canopies, leaves and lateral branches are being removed in the fruiting zone to allow good air and sunlight penetration, and the many intricate complexities of the elusive Pinot grape are beginning to develop. We have great expectations that this harvest will have all the hallmarks of another great vintage, such as 2007. Nature can be cruel mistress, but with intelligent management and a touch of luck, we predict exciting things ahead.
Within the winery, all is quiet and still. Each carefully crafted barrel sits in silence aging on its own less slowly maturing into its full potential only rarely disturbed to be topped full. We will begin to blend on the bench to figure exactly how all the pieces will come together, but for now all is silent in the cellar.
~Ben Cane, Pinot Noir Winemaker