Thoughts on the 2022 Vintage
Remember April of 2022? That was, like, so long ago. That was so Covid time. That was wipe-it-out-of-our-memory time. It was also a time when a late frost so damaged the early-budding Pinot Noir vines in the northern Willamette Valley that some growers feared total crop loss.
Of course, wine drinkers want to remember 2022 because now is the time when winemakers throughout the valley are typically releasing their 2022 vintage wines. So, what became of those damaged vines and the wine from those vineyards?
Pinot Noir bud break, Saffron Fields Vineyard, Yamhill-Carlton AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon
As it turns out, Mother Nature stepped in and ordered a reboot. Having savaged the primary buds, she ordered up a robust helping of secondary buds. And fruit yields ultimately approached average for the valley. Not just that, but she also granted us an ideal autumn with cool nights and warm, dry, days. This led to harvests well into October in many areas allowing fruit to fully develop before harvest. Some growers even refer to the final results as a classic Willamette Valley vintage.
In a way, 2022 produced two different crops on the same plants, the primary buds (that started to grow in late April) and the secondary buds (which commenced growing in mid May) each producing fruit. In the case of our vineyards, this was roughly a 30/70 mix of fruit. Consider it 2022 V1 and V2. Technically, the V1 and V2 grapes were somewhat different, V1, after all, fruited earlier and ripened longer. Inevitably, since they were both growing on the same vines, there was intermixing of the fruit during harvest. While some control was exercised when dropping fruit (cutting clusters and literally “dropping’ them to the ground) earlier in the summer, ultimately, much of the two growths ended up blended together. This can be viewed as good or bad, either two vintages for the price of one or a forced blending of two vintages outside the winemaker’s control. But we say vintage is vintage and ultimately 2022 = V1 + V2. Together they are a unique expression of the variances of mother nature.
In the end, we think our 2022 wines will be another beautiful offering. Coming immediately after a stellar 2021 vintage (remember, we told you to collect lots of those), this is another year where wines reflect the ripe fullness of the fruit and ideally balanced acidity. Whites especially should be good. Look for bright acidity and notes of citrus in our Chardonnays and white Pinot Noir. Our flagship estate Pinot Noirs should have good structure and balanced acids and tannins.
Overall, we see 2022 as another collectible year, with Pinot Noirs that will be showing well for the next 15 years. Of course, because we barrel age longer than many producers, we always think our reds are ready to drink from the time of release. We wouldn’t release them otherwise. While we assure you that we are completely neutral on the subject, we do think that acquiring several cases to drink over time will definitely prove to be a worthy investment.
Saffron Fields ripe clusters of Pinot Noir right before harvest, Yamhiil-Carlton AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon
