harvest reports
2003 Final
To My Friends:
The 2003 vintage defies description and easy labeling. Unusual cold spells and hard heat spikes during critical parts of the growing season were challenging for grape growers. Favorable weather conditions and a small crop towards the end of the season made for a relatively smooth harvest.
It is a little early to make definite pronouncements about the quality of the vintage.
Due to the extraordinary swings in weather, quality will vary. The berries were small this year, which typically correlates with good quality. Mild weather late in the growing season and the complete absence of rain gave our grapes additional hang time needed to achieve ripeness. Mother nature did us a favor in giving us a light crop, but she sure didn't make it easy. Was it perfect? No, but it ended better than anyone could have imagined.
The 2003 harvest was the smallest since 1998, a very good scenario for the California wine industry. The 2003 shortage will help dry up the reserves from the high quality 2002 harvest. As an industry, our inventories will be in good shape heading into 2004 with the long-term exception of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.
Here is the breakdown by variety for Sonoma and the North Coast:
Sauvignon Blanc - Top quality. This was one of the best harvests for pure varietal flavors and great acidities. Crop was 10-15% above normal. Supply situation is stable.
Carneros Chardonnay - Very good quality even though we went through a couple of vicious heat spells. Fermentations went great and our first taste through the vintage was positive. Carneros continues to impress for some of the most consistent high quality Chardonnay in California. The crop production was dramatically off by 30%. Carneros Chardonnay was actually in demand at the end of this harvest and for the first time in years pricing started to go up. There will be more buyers than sellers for Carneros fruit going forward. This is a sure sign of a superior appellation.
Sonoma County Merlot - Good quality, but impacted by the worst shatter we have seen in many years. Poor weather conditions during set knocked production back as much as 40%. Heavy shatter can affect quality because of the amount of immature shattered berries in a cluster. Initial tasting through Merlot was inconsistent, but more good than bad. The supply situation for Merlot seems to be coming into balance. In fact, some wineries are trying to convince growers it makes sense to bud Cabernet Sauvignon into Merlot.
Pinot Noir - Top quality. Banner year. Wines are extremely rich and silky, with good tannins and acidities to balance the finish. The crop was down 30-35%. The tidal wave of Pinot did not appear this year, but there is a huge oversupply looming in 2004 and 2005.
Syrah - Top quality. One of the best in years. Wines of incredible depth and richness, with soft tannins and good acidities. Crop is running 25% short. The future of Syrah is unclear. There is plenty planted, it makes an all around delicious wine, but the consumer has not noticed American Syrah yet.
Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon - Quality appears to be good to very good. Wines are deeply colored with big tannins. In 2001 and 2002, Cabernet revealed its quality early. In 2003, the wines are still tight and closed in. They have all the qualities to make very good wine, but it is hard to see right now how it will all come together. We will know a lot more after M/L is complete which is some time in January/February. The Cabernet Sauvignon harvest ran close to normal. It would have been bigger, but growers knew they had to thin for quality. Growers and wineries will be working very hard this winter to find ways in which we can reduce tonnage, raise quality, be price competitive and still make it economical for the grower. The oversupply situation for Cabernet will take another 2-3 years to even out. My next letter will talk about vineyard winterization practices.
At Benziger you get nothing less than our total committment - blood, sweat, tears and all!
The Benziger harvest chorus line performs its closing act.
Benziger Family Vineyards
Sonoma Mountain, December 1, 2003