2010 was the first of two challenging years for farming and winemaking. It was unusually cool, which made getting the fruit as ripe as we like particularly difficult.
The 2011 vintage was even more challenging; after a second cool season, starting in September, it rained throughout harvest. Because of this, and the resulting product, Wine Spectator was very hard on this vintage throughout the Napa Valley. Fortunately for us, it’s looking like the mountain terroir and the subtle differences in climate from the valley floor might help us escape what could have been a disappointing wine. It’s still early, but we are optimistically hopeful about the 2011 vintage.