Napa

Question 1

1991 Napa

Answer 1

Longer growing season, Big crop, concentrated but with acid. “Wonderful personality, leaner and more elegant (than 90) - tim Mondavi
Top with 94, 97

RP- 94, his highest grade yet (same with ‘90) but for 1991 “North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon” was the highest he gave to any region in the world.

Rain prior to budbreak, followed by ideal weather. Thinning was important.
Cool to moderate temperatures, heat spike in July extended the growing season — concentrating fruit, maintaining acidity

Question 2

1992 Napa

Answer 2

Good quality & slightly above avg quantity. Overshadowed by 90/91

Cool spring. Early budbreak but prolonged flowering and uneven set - cluster pruning

June rain, but
Warm, Dry summer.
High temp caused early start to harvest in August, but cool nights and foggy mornings prolonged harvest to proceed slowly.

Question 3

1990 Napa

Answer 3

Slightly lower yield, slightly higher quality, balanced. Mild temp. One of better vintages of 90s , after 94, 97, 91

Cool spring rains during bloom reduced the size of the crop somewhat
long, Warm summer. Even ripening near-perfect fruit maturity, acid levels and sugar content.
Mild harvest weather
(late rains came too late to do much damage)

Question 4

1993 Napa

Answer 4

Good not great.

Warm spring
Rain at flowering- lower berry set, (crop reduction 20% to 30%)
Cool summer but some heat spells in August and September - several selective harvests, rather than one extended crush.
Some sunburn reqd selective picking

Question 5

1994 Napa

Answer 5

Mild temps, slightly lower yields but concentrated, showy ripe, fleshy. Depth.

RP new highest for here- 95 points; he has done so six times since

Low winter rainfall mitigated by cool daytime temp and evening marine fog
Cool, long spring
Mild dry summer
Moderate temps optimal for quality
Hot August - uneven color during veraison, causing growers to thin fruit to allow only the best grapes to reach maturation.

-transition year.
some wineries making high-throttle wines- Harlan & screaming eagle in barrel.
also last gasp of pre-phylloxera vines

-Year French Laundry opened

Question 6

1995 Napa

Answer 6

“Late, light (yields), luscious”

Weather extremes
Winter floods, Spring rains, Summer hailstorm
Growing season late start, summer heat pushed grapes to maturity.
Moderate Indian Summer temps extended hang time for reds -rich flavors, deep color, but lower yield

Question 7

1996 Napa

Answer 7

Warm year. Small clusters and light crop - deeply flavored grapes, overall harvest down by 20-30%.

Unseasonably warm winter then rainfall and early bud break.
Cool spring then intermittent rain during bloom- shatter, lowering potential crop size.
Warm summer with several heat spells speeded veraison and ripening.
Cool September allowed grape flavors to catch up with sugars bringing the fruit into balance.

Question 8

1997 Napa

Answer 8

Very ripe, opulent, concentrated, high ABV, high quantity! High RP score 97

Warm, dry soils in February triggered budbreak a full month early. Bloom followed in early May.

Moderate steady summer temps allowed fruit to reach optimal maturity. Long hang time

high quantity — 144,000 tons compared to 10-year-average 121,000 (high amount of fruit meant they had to leave fruit on the vine while starting to vinify until they had room- extra long hang time for some fruit- VERY ripe wines - high ABV High. the year that changed style.

Question 9

1998 Napa

Answer 9

Cool, damp, underripe green, herbal with gritty tannin. Elegant lower ABV.

Wet El Niño spring
Poor fruit set
Uneven ripening, threatened with sunburn, causing vine manipulation in vineyards, reducing crops.

Late harvest w/ possibility of rains, but was ok warm and sunny
Picking started in late September through early November.

The clusters, while small and low in weight, produced elegant fruit with definite personality and complexity.

The juice to skin ratio was very low, which translates into extracted wines (gritty tannin) with concentrated fruit flavors.

Question 10

1999 Napa

Answer 10

Cool, moderate, dry year - concentration and structure, age-worthy

Long, cool spring
Mild summer. one heat spike in July
Heat late in September leading to harvest.
Long hang-time - concentrated varietal flavors but still acid.

Question 11

Top vintages of Napa in 90s?

Answer 11

97/94/91

Question 12

1980 Napa

Answer 12

Cool, wet then really hot at harvest.
Cab clusters mix of ripe, green, and over-ripe berries.

Wet winter gave way to a cool early season.
Spring summer cool and foggy with everyone praying for a warm spell.
Badly needed heat arrived in September to allow fruit to develop sugar content while holding decent to good acidity.
harvest weather turned hot and nasty

widespread “stuck” fermentations and high levels of hydrogen sulfide.

best were ripe and balanced and varietal character only diminished by high alcohol, acquiring some grace with aging.

-Grace Fam did well

Question 13

1981 Napa

Answer 13

Early harvest due to hot summer. intense Aug heatwave- vines shutdown, crop reduction.

Best were cooler hillside sites higher altitude

But wines aging much better than expected- supple texture, solid varietal character, and surprising balance, plenty of tannin in their youth

Question 14

1982 Napa

Answer 14

Tough- rain at harvest problem, dilution. Large crop.
successes - ripe, but tannic and tight in youth, aging slowly.

Wet winter and spring.
Cool June and July
Warm summer after
Rain at harvest. Two rain storms diluted the berries on the over-cropped vines.
Those who thinned early won out. Those who gambled and waited for better days to arrive in mid-October fared well.
Most Merlot was picked before the rains and because the crop was large they lacked complexity and longevity.

non-irrigated and/or hillside vineyards fared better

Question 15

1983 Napa

Answer 15

Ok weather through June, then turned
heat spikes frequent
rains at harvest.

Napa Valley enjoyed moderate weather, but Sonoma was hit harder by harvest rains causing diluted, out of balance Cabernets.

Carmenet was a lone exception. Both Dunn and Forman remain among the best from Napa, indicating the low yielding, dry farmed mountain sites fared best of all. Even the successes were unusually tannic. With the majority of vineyards harvested before the pesty rains,
Merlot offered opulent fruit and supple texture. Merlot was the success story of this vintage.

Question 16

1984 Napa

Answer 16

Big crop, good to excellent quality, some wines a bit short on acidity but
huge, powerful and ultra-ripe- best were rich in tannin but were balanced well enough to age

early harvest due to a hot spell that kicked it off and a long period warm weather followed

Merlot ripened quickly in Napa and Sonoma and the harvest was finished by mid-September. The vintage tended toward over-ripeness and high, sometimes hard tannins. Only a few managed to produce balanced wines, and all but a few failed to last a decade.

Question 17

1985 Napa

Answer 17

One of the best up to the time (of 80s for sure , since 74 really)
Relatively cool and one of longest.
Fruit maturity achieved at relatively moderate sugar levels and the acidity was textbook perfect for balance.

Early budbreak
Summer warm days, cool nights
Cool August
Sunny September
fruit even and incremental maturity rarely encountered in California. 

Sonoma enjoying the same conditions as Napa, the vintage yielded an overwhelming number of successful Cabernets. Generally ripe and supple, the wines are well-proportioned and integrated with fine tannins

Question 18

1986 Napa

Answer 18

Very good year- full-bodied, well-structured wines - but disappointing with time -not as tannic and long lived as 85 , or round as 84
- winter floods spread phylloxera

Similar season to 85:
Cool early season, few heat spikes
Long growing season
Warm September.

But for some reasons- sleeker more polished fruit with more moderate tannins

Inviting in youth but most petered out within a decade.

Merlot turned out to be almost as fine as 85. The mild summer weather enabled the fruit to reach a plump, ripe stage with forward flavors

Question 19

1987 Napa

Answer 19

Good (end of string of good 84-87) but not quite as revered as previous (great merlot vintage)

Low rain, cool weather (beg of drought period)
Vines did not set a sizable crop,
Summer heat further reduced
Small berries and clusters.
Harvest fast and furious
- concentrated flavors but sinewy tannin.The richer, better balanced wines were made in the cellars.

Merlot ripened before the late September heat spells turned out to be one of the best in decade.
Small berries, small crop- big, plush, plummy

Question 20

1988 Napa

Answer 20

Dual personality vintage bc Oct rain- light, fruity and elegant to heavy, dull, and diluted. Sonoma faired better (less rain at harvest) or hillside sites

Lowish rainfall
Dry and warm spring.
Set small
July - cool weather pattern set in.
Indian summer into late Sept.
grapes hanging late into the season, Some picked at lower sugars, others  waited and heavy rains in October.

Merlot - poor set & shatter bc drought and warm weather. small crop under warmer than desirable conditions.

Question 21

1989 Napa

Answer 21

Rain at harvest ruined great growing season. Like previous vintage - better in sonoma… and hillside sites but still hard and tannic. Media “vintage from hell”

Great spring
Almost perfect summer weather
Rain in Sept just before harvest and again a week later to delay.
Many didnt wait but those that did- got good weather in October

Merlot- rains sparked Botrytis concerns and poorly drained sites that proved to be real. Otherwise, avg but still under media generalization.

Question 22

Top napa vintages of 80s

Answer 22

84, 85, 86, 87

84/84 prop top

Question 23

1979 Napa

Answer 23

Varied quality (pick before or after harvest rain) if not under-appreciated.  
Slightly tight and austere but long-lived. Southern valley better than north (SL good). Sonoma/ Alex no

Cool season
Heat spikes in July
Rain showers around harvest.

Quality varied widely- some reds picked before the rains, and the rest harvested well into October.

Many of the Reserve bottlings have aged surprisingly long and well.

Duckhorn’s second successful Merlot in a rich, serious style starts people thinking about Merlot as a stand-alone varietal.

First year opus one

Question 24

1978 Napa

Answer 24

Good quality, large crop- some high abvs, best maintain acid & tannin to last. (Top 70s after 74, 70)

Wet spring- botrytis concern
But warm summer and even ripening with heat-wave just before harvest
Harvesting frantic, some grapes over-ripe
Large crop - makes up for two drought years

Question 25

1977 Napa

Answer 25

2nd drought year

The vines pruned for a low crop in prep for drought fared better thru dry, warm, sometimes hot summer, more balance, elegance. Irrigation common to avoid over-stressing vines.

Light harvest rain showers proved beneficial to the small, dehydrated fruit- returned to better balance of juice to skins and softer skins. Many best wines from grapes picked in late October.

Merlot picked before rain

Question 26

1976 Napa

Answer 26

Overall not good- Dry, warm drought. Over-ripe, high sugar levels

Drought caught growers off guard - vines pruned for a normal crop, and dry weather soon placed them under stress conditions.
Berries small and sugar levels soared by late August.
Many wines suffered from over-ripeness, hard tannins, and a lack of balance.

Oakville/ Rutherford best.

First few years the vintage seemed over-ripe but acceptable. However, shortly after its fifth year, many Cabernets began to fall apart with some turning downright ugly.

Question 27

First vintage of opus one?

Answer 27

1979

Question 28

First vintage of screaming eagle?

Answer 28

1992

Question 29

First vintage of stag’s leap cask 23?

Answer 29

1974 - now fay & slv (purchased fay in 86) After tasting lots with Andre Tchelistcheff, the large wooden cask numbered 23 so great had to bottle separately

Question 30

First vintage Colgin?

Answer 30

1992