Mother Nature is always unpredictable and often persnickety this time of year: the 2010 harvest is no exception. As the weather worked us like an emotional yo-yo, we experienced the coolest season ever recorded accompanied by occasional heat spikes. But these same conditions allowed for some of the best flavor and color development possible .
Looking for that silver lining
We all knew early on that we were at least 2-3 weeks behind schedule and we thought this was going to be a difficult year for flavors because of the delayed harvesting. But it actually seems to have worked in reverse because we had such a long hang time.
Normally long hang time would increase sugars but in this case it resulted in concentrated flavors, solid acids and intense colors. Every lot of red wine I’ve seen this year has more depth of color of than any year that I can recall in my 37 years of making wine, and that’s not just Cabernet.
Coupled with this color intensity, these longer-season grapes are wonderfully flavorful, with just the right amount of sugars: not extremely high but perfect for classic, balanced, full flavored wines. You’ll actually be able to have a glass of 2010 Cab and still mow the lawn.
Now we wish we would have crushed more Cab! TE