2010 HARVEST NOTES

As many of you have probably heard the weather here in Sonoma County wasn’t overly cooperative to growing grapes in the 2010 season. It was a year of many challenges, with a multitude of extremes to deal with.

We had the coldest spring in over 40 years, which meant the vines woke up late from their winter dormancy. We had the coolest summer in living history, with only 2 days over 90 in June and July combined, which really isn’t good for ripening. We had a long rainy season, with regular rainfall right through June. On August 22nd, we had the hottest day since records began; 115 degrees F, which actually cooked some vineyards. We were spared from the worst so not too many of our precious grapes were damaged, but it did change things. Luckily we had one of the warmest Octobers on record, and we achieved the perfect level of ripeness, lots of flavor without too much sugar.

So in the end, what does all of this actually mean?

Fortunately we were well aware of these potential challenges from a very early point, and immediately our game plan was amended; especially where vineyard practices were concerned. We spent an inordinate amount of time fine tuning the vines canopy and crop load this year, making sure that we were heading in the right direction, and that all was well. Every morning, starting in late June right through to the last days of harvest in October I personally walked each and every one of our vineyards carefully watching over our precious grapes. This in turn resulted in an extraordinary amount precision detailing to each and every vine, making sure only the best fruit made it to the winery for our Estate wines. This probably sounds ludicrous and fanatical – welcome to my summer.

We eventually harvested less than half of the grapes that we had originally anticipated, which resulted in the vines concentrating all of their energy into far less fruit, very good for wine quality. So now you get to hear the really good news. The wines made from this fruit, which we now have in tank and barrels are possibly the best wines that we have ever tasted at this early stage. We are all very excited. Both the aromas and flavors are extraordinarily pretty. The palate and flavors are very concentrated with an abundance of floral and soft red fruit notes and tones. The bright and fresh acidity in these wines has made those characters especially vivid, intense and vibrant. We imagine that these wines, once in bottle will become very good ‘Keepers’.

Sometime in the New Year we will be inviting you, our friends to come and see for yourselves, so make it a plan to come and taste some of these beauties to get a real sense and flavor of the year 2010.

Now is a good time to personally thank three very important people that have made all of this possible and a reality.

Walter Byck, our Patriarch, for his dedication to quality and almost unwavering trust in me to make the best decisions to achieve this goal.

Paul Sloane, our vineyard consultant and manager. For his passion, depth of knowledge and his extraordinary eye for detail; but above all for caring so much and making it his own personal goal to make our vineyards better than ever.

And to Eugenio Villasenor, our man in the vineyard. Whose energy, diligence and focus into all of those minute details really did make the world of a difference. As wine drinkers, again we thank you.

Dan Barwick – your winemaker.