September 2008 - The Parklander Magazine

WINE REVIEW
The Importance of
The Importance of
Vintage Dating
By Bennett and Sheila Bodenstein
The Russian River Valley of Sonoma County California is an area that is
blessed with an almost perfect grape growing climate, cool morning fog,
evening breezes off the sea and warm daytime temperatures. This
microclimate is ideal for growing chardonnay and syrah grapes as well as
the very temperamental pinot noir. It also is one of the few areas on
earth where annual vintage dates are extremely important.
In most of the Californian, Australian, Argentinean and Chilean wines,
the vintage year is not terribly important unless the area was hit with
some really catastrophic weather conditions such as too much rain, not
enough rain, too hot, too cold or other natural occurrences. In most
instances, these areas are blessed with a fairly even and predictable
climate, producing grapes that are perfect for decent table wines.
Pinot noir vines and the
grapes that it grows are
extremely sensitive to even
slight changes in growing conditions.
It is in the area of premium wines that vintage dates prove most
important and to illustrate this, we will use our favorite red grape variety,
the pinot noir. This is an overused statement of ours, but we must use it
again; the pinot noir grape is responsible for some of California’s
greatest successes and its most dismal failures. Pinot noir vines and the
grapes that it grows are extremely sensitive to even slight changes in
growing conditions.
If it is too wet in the
spring, you get a limited
production of tiny grapes. If it is
too hot in the summer, the grapes
develop too much sugar and a much lowered
fruit acid. If it is too warm and/or wet in the fall, all
sorts of fungus infections develop. If there are too many cloudy
days, the sugar in the grapes recedes into the stems. Any or all of these
problems will effect the final wine. If all goes well, there will be fine
wines produced, if not, the wines will be just adequate or even poor and
thus the reason for vintage dating.
Vintage dating will give the buyer detailed information about the
quality of the grapes being used to make the wine and a clue to the wine
in the bottle. Vintage dating information is readily available at many
Internet sites, one such is www.winespectator.com/Wine/. Here is an
excerpt from the Wine Spectator 2006 Vintage Report: “The growing
season got off to a late start, which turned out to be a good thing when
temperatures rose above 100 degrees for a few days in July. The grapes
were still hard and green, so sunburn was kept to a minimum. But
because of the wet spring, botrytis (a fungus infection) and mildew, were
a threat throughout the season. Growers in cooler regions like Carneros,
Sonoma Coast and Russian River dodged the bullet if they managed to
ripen and harvest their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay before the October
rains. Others weren’t so lucky.”
The Frei Brothers Winery draws its grapes from the Russian River
Valley and is therefore involved in the yearly vintage dating lottery; in
2006, they beat the odds producing several fine wines.
Frei Brothers Reserve RRV Chardonnay ($20).
Following the theme set at the winery, the Frei Brothers Reserve RRV
Chardonnay is a summer fruit romp. The flavors are bright and clean
accenting tropical fruits, apples and citrus. The wine also possesses a
creamy sensation in the mouth, a sure sign of a better chardonnay as well
as just the right amount of oak. This is a very friendly and enjoyable wine
and a beautiful example of a quality Russian River Valley chardonnay.
Frei Brothers Reserve RRV Pinot Noir ($30).
This wine is a very fine example of a quality Russian River pinot noir.
Big ripe cherry and plum aromas combine with cedar, clove and wild
flowers to invite the first sip. The flavor is a mix of summer red fruits in
copious amounts.The finish is as fruity as the flavor and is intensified by
the soft almost plush texture. As severe critics of pinot noir wines, we
truly enjoyed this wine and we are sure you will too.
76 SEPTEMBER 2008