We came to consensus on the blend for Avenius Red 2021 fairly quickly. At the first flight, the wine with the most finesse and elegance was the unanimous preference. We then worked around that blend for two days, adding and subtracting components. Invariably, the original blend was preferred in every blind tasting.
Read MoreBlending trials begin in January. After several weather delays we finally got started this week. Red wines from the previous vintage (2021) have now settled down and are beginning to show their personalities. We also have time. This is a slow process.
Read MoreNo snow. The grass is still green. No ice on the pond. No winter this year?
Read MoreThis week we systematically tasted samples from barrels of the 2021 vintage.
Read MoreThis week wines from Linden’s red fermenters were drained into barrels. This was earlier than normal, but they were in a good place in their evolution and we did not want to over extract. We are getting a better sense of the wines. But they are still finishing up their malolactic fermentations which makes them a bit funky and gassy. That will soon blow off.
Read MoreLinden’s red wine fermentations have already completed. The yeast had an easy go of it this vintage as alcohols are on the low to moderate side (averaging around 13%).
Read MoreYesterday we picked the last of our red grapes. Vintage 2021 required extreme patience as we waited for a weather miracle to ripen our stubborn reds. The past ten days gave us that miracle with warm, sunny days, low humidity, and cool nights.
Read MorePerfect weather has given us the window to harvest all our red grapes. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot are streaming onto the crush pad at an unprecedented rate. Style decisions are made as we taste the grapes during picking and sorting.
Read MoreWe are given a gift of ideal weather conditions. This week will be the most intense week of Vintage 2021. Almost all of our red grapes need to be harvested this week as they are fragile and cannot take another rain event. We start with Merlot on Wednesday.
Read MoreAfter Wednesday’s deluge we have had perfect ripening weather. The big concern centered around grape integrity. With a large hit of water the grapes will swell. Even worse they can crack. If this happens they lose their protective coating and start to fall apart. They cannot recover, even under ideal weather conditions.
Read MoreYesterday was a bummer. There is no way to sugarcoat a big rain during harvest.
Read MoreWe start this week picking Hardscrabble Chardonnay. Two blocks are ripe and we need to get them in the barn (walk-in cooler) before Wednesday’s forecasted rain. Two additional blocks will remain as they need a bit more time before they come into balance.
Read MoreWe can rarely schedule Hardscrabble’s Riesling picking date. Once the grapes enter the window of ripeness they become highly susceptible to rot. Rot is triggered by rain. It rained yesterday. We pick today.
Read MoreThis past week’s weather has made for a remarkable turnaround in the flavors and concentration in the grapes. It’s the break we needed. The only small downside has been the recent hot afternoons. We have limited picking to the cooler morning hours. Coolness retains fresh aromatics and limits bitterness in the juice.
Read MoreThe waiting is over. The grapes took full advantage of a brilliant weekend. The soils are drying out. Leaves are soaking up the sun and photosynthesis is accelerating ripening. While we want the vines to take in the goodness of each sunny day, the picking line-up is growing and beginning to look intimidating. Time to start.
Read MoreToday is Linden’s first day of crush for vintage 2021. On the slate are Hardscrabble’s Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. The season has presented a circuitous, twisted path to get to this point. A mid-summer drought followed by late summer cycles of brilliant sun and downpours.
Read MoreLinden will start harvest later this week. Making this decision has been particularly difficult this year due to extreme fluctuations between drought and rain. The vines are confused. Lately the weather has settled down nicely. And we hope that continues.
Read MoreHarvest is still weeks away, but recent rains have given us a reality check. We were enjoying a much drier than normal summer, but there were worries that the vines were becoming too water stressed. Some rain was desirable. Be careful what you wish for.
Read MoreLast week we bottled. It was wonderfully boring. A boring day is as good as it gets. There are lots of moving parts on our bottling line, and if one of those parts does not move the way it is supposed to move, our boring day becomes a stressful day.
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