Linden Update | October 2019

In the cellar, Hardscrabble Petit Verdot, Block 4, October 14, 2019

In the cellar, Hardscrabble Petit Verdot, Block 4, October 14, 2019

Vintage 2019: Good, but just how good?

The 2019 harvest finished up several weeks ago. This week we pressed the last of the Cabernet Sauvignon, which is one of the stars of the vintage. It was a very good year, but also very unusual, so there is some hesitation to “declare” the vintage.

Our favorite vintages have been from typical weather patterns. September and October are usually cool with an occasional rain event. This September was hot and very dry. This makes for a quick, easy, no stress harvest. Good for the winegrower, but what about the wine? The wines need to speak for themselves. Over the next few months, as they lose their spritz and raw yeastiness, the character of the vintage will become clearer.

The strenuous, obvious work is over, but our guard can’t be let down quite yet. Young wines are in a fragile state as they finish fermentation. Each barrel needs to be monitored. Most wineries depend on a variety of lab tests to track potential problems. We depend on organoleptic evaluation, which means that decision making is dependent on smell and taste. Over the years we’ve become comfortable with this palate-based winemaking approach.

This is the advantage of making the same wines from the same vines for decades. We now know that wines from the Avenius Vineyard always ferment slowly and need a bit of TLC to get over the finish line. Petit Verdot, given its propensity for very high alcohols and gnarly tannins, can stress both the yeasts and the winemakers. Sauvignon Blanc can go stinky (as in rotten eggs), but will come around once given some air.

Our accumulated knowledge and experience allows us to do less in the cellar. Like watchful parents, we let the wines express themselves, but also know when we have to intervene and guide.

Linden's Hardscrabble Vineyard, August 2017

Linden's Hardscrabble Vineyard, August 2017

Linden Evolution Seminars

Hardscrabble Red:
A decades-long gambit reaps rewards.

A small planting in 2002 marked the beginning of a slow, methodical replanting of red winegrape vineyards at Hardscrabble. A dozen new vineyard blocks now produce wines showing the results that we had hoped for.

Jim Law will lead tastings and discussion of the influences of vineyard establishment decisions on wine style and quality. Weather permitting, we will spend a short time outside in the vines, then retreat into Linden’s library for a tasting of the recently bottled 2016 and 2017 vintages, and finally to the cellar to taste different barrel lots of what will eventually become 2019 Hardscrabble Red.

Sunday, November 24, 2019 | 12 noon and 2:30pm — SOLD OUT

Sunday, December 1, 2019 | 12 noon and 2:30pm — SOLD OUT

December Free Form Tastings: Save the Dates

  • December 7 and 8, 2019

  • December 14 and 15, 2019

    (Details in next Update)

  • Subscribe to monthly Linden Updates for the latest vineyard and cellar information.

Linden UpdatesJim Law2019