2009 Harvest: The More You Know, the Less You Know


As each growing season progresses, there are many predictions about what it will all mean to the year's harvest. And each season, we're reminded that the more you think you know, the less you know.

This season started with an early budbreak, which made everyone think that harvest would be early as a result. Then, a cool summer slowed everything down, and every decided harvest would be later than usual. By looking at the crop levels out in the vineyards, the prediction changed back to it would be an early harvest. Then, we had a heat spell, which nearly guaranteed in everyone's minds that it would be an early harvest. In the end, it turned out we picked our first vineyard on the same date as we've started harvest nearly every year—September 4. The only change seems to be which vineyard is the first to lead the charge, which seems to be dictated more by the crop levels at each site rather than any of the other factors.

The great news for 2009 is all the factors balanced out, and we were able to pick in that perfect window when the acids and sugars are at their optimal levels. As the growing season progresses and the vines ripen, the sugar levels are steadily going up. We want to pick in the 24 degrees brix range so we have wines with moderate alcohols in the 13.5% range. At the same time as the sugar is going up, acid is going down, and you don't want the acid to drop too low, or you'll end up with flabby wines that lack the brightness that we love. The key is finding the triangle when these factors create the perfect picking window. We're thrilled with what we saw this harvest. The vineyards have yielded low tonnage, and the berries are extremely dark, with ripe seeds, so the pinots should be classic, intense and structured. The great acidity in the chardonnays will give us beautifully balanced wines with wonderful brightness.

We brought in our last vineyard, our Cherry Ridge Syrah, on Monday, October 12. This was a little earlier than ususal, due to the impending rainstorm that was predicted. The prediction turned out to be very true, with over 5 inches of rain pounding down over a 24-hour period, and light showers for several more days after. The fruit was beautiful and ready to come in, so it all worked out well, and Dan is happy to be done earlier than usual...do we sense an early ski trip in his future??

Terroir Discovery with Christopher

A Gnarly Dude Farmer's Road to Hoe!

Take a trip to Devil's Gulch Ranch just one hour north of San Francisco, meandering up Marin County's Sir Francis Drake Boulevard out to downtown Nicasio and you will be rewarded by experiencing the culture shock and tranquility of Northwestern Marin. The town square consists of an old frontier style clapboard church, Rancho Nicasio (a venerable honky tonk and dance hall venue), a post office and the one horse town pre-requisite, no gas station! Tucked up against the eastern flank of the coastal Sea View range which creates the fog break from Mendocino to the Golden Gate Bridge, Nicasio is a place that brings back many memories of jaunts with friends out to Point Reyes to hike back in the '70s.

In 1974, with trepidation and support from my family, I packed my bags in Northern New Jersey and headed to Marin County to live with my father at age 15. I may as well have moved to the planet Pluto. Back in those days(from what I remember), the culture in Marin was eclectic and communal. From Gestalt, to The Grateful Dead, from Yoga to LSD, the adult population was experimenting as hardily as the kids of that generation. Marin was a hotbed of alternative lifestyles and thinking. Enter Mark Pasternak, a 19-year old enterprising young man with an inquiring mind, a head for the land, and a deeply rooted childhood desire to be a farmer. Mark discovered Devil's Gulch in 1971. It was a small creek that sprang out of a briny spit of a hillside that backs up against the town of Nicasio to the east and overlooks to the west the flora and fauna kingdom that is Point Reyes National Seashore. Mark grew up in Los Angeles, and true to the times, his alternative thinking bred a desire to be as far from Los Angeles as possible. After a feeble attempt at college, he scraped up as much money as he could find and bought 65 acres of the now protected wilderness area that is Devil's Gulch (a name possibly coming from the Miwok referring to the ruggedness of the gulch).

Mark went right to work on his new domain with abandon, determination and baleing wire. His idea from the very beginning before he had even heard of Alice Waters, was to have a truly sustainable farm that would raise a variety of animals and crops. A place where the vine could prosper between asparagus, strawberries, and other popular companion crops of the times. So, in 1980 he started throwing vines down to create what is now the oldest Pinot Noir vineyard in Marin County.

Mark did his homework when it came to the science of the project and researched thoroughly the clonal selections available to him at the time. For diversity and experimental sake, he intuitively mixed up the field selections and purchased clones, and started growing pinot noir on a steep, east by southeast facing hillside, 700 ft above sea level. Mark's Devil's Gulch vineyard is now comprised of 14 acres of old and new Dijon clones planted on mostly clay and sandstone loams with more exposures than an O'Farrell theatre. The average vine age now, after replanting and adding vines in the late 1990s, is 25 years. The weather is foggy, windswept in the early spring and late fall, with warm sunny days and cool nights in the summer (when the fog is not as persistent).

As a reminder from our earlier discussion, the flavor profiles of Dutton-Goldfield's Pinot Noirs grown in the coastal environment of Northern Marin and Western Sonoma are as follows: 1. Temperature in the vineyard relates to the amount of time spent in the fog and wind. 2. The coolest vineyards exist typically because of the influx of marine layer (fog) riding on the wind generated by the Estero, or Petaluma Wind Gap. 3. Thinner soils above the fog line (generally speaking 600 to 800 ft above sea level) dominate the hill slopes and get more sun exposure, while 4. Lower elevations contain heavier (clay laden loams) and are generally below the fog line. In many cases these areas were first planted and have older vines.

ABOVE FOG LINE-generally warmer and drier, lighter soils with deeper more concentrated fruit "
BELOW FOG LINE-generally colder and heavy soils, with higher toned fruit "
OLD DIJON CLONES-deep intense and well suited to clay soils (not drought resistant) "
MODERN DIJON DERIVITIVES-broader array of nuances and more drought tolerant "
WENTE MUSQUE-Original California (pre UC Davis) Chardonnay clone-rich, textural, and aromatic "
RUED - A floral adapted version of the old Wente clone, providing tangerine and exotic spices "
GOLD RIDGE LOAM-sandy clay loams on shale and sandstone and fairly deep layered "
LAUGHLIN LOAM Thinly layered sandy loams on sandstone and shale "
CLAY-heavier soils good for retaining water and contributing to vigorous growth "
SANDY-Thinner well drained causing more stress on the vines and typically in higher elevation with sunnier aspects

Our Devil's Gulch offering is easily our most hedonistic, opulent and dense wine (much like its grower and maker?), rendering a characteristic that, in California, is perhaps our most popular style. Here are a few notes from Dan Goldfield about our 2007 offering.

"Wines that are truly affecting are the ones most difficult to write about, and the 2007 Devil's Gulch is a prime example. Its combination of density, complexity, lively brightness, and at the same time brooding depth, defies normal product sheet verbiage. One's first look at this wine in the glass portends the story: While absurdly deep in color for Pinot it is also vibrant and almost crimson in hue. In the nose, the defining wild berry and touch of peat that declare Devil's Gulch jump out, but each sniff brings different nuances: from cardamom to wild cherry to violets. In the mouth, the freshness that comes from great acid balance and moderate alcohol carries the dense wild blackberry fruit and sweetly resolved tannins through the long supple finish. This is a wine that will complement foods from simple cheese plates to complex rabbit, mushroom and risotto dishes. No doubt this special offering has a long life ahead of it, if one has the willpower (or stash) to hold on to some." 325 cases produced.-D.G.

Salute!
Christopher Pappe

New Releases: 2007 Single-Vineyards

Our single-vineyard wines from the highly acclaimed 2007 vintage have just been released. We again have our four special pinots, showcasing these unique sites in different appellations:

Devil's Gulch from Marin County;
Freestone Hill from Russian River Valley;
McDougall Vineyard from the Sonoma Coast;
Sanchietti Vineyard from Green Valley of Russian River Valley.

And for chardonnay, there is our Rued Vineyard from Green Valley of Russian River Valley. We've already received some very nice press on our newest releases (see below).

All of these wines are produced in quantities of just a few hundred cases, so if you have trouble finding them, please get in touch with Christopher Pappe (cp@duttongoldfield.com / 510.435.9459) or Valerie Wathen (valerie@duttongoldfield.com / 707.823.3887).

The Latest Reviews

These reviews just in from PinotReport:

2007 Freestone Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir
"Medium ruby color; deep cherry, sage and herb aromas; rich, ripe, deep juicy cherry flavors with herbal notes; silky texture, sweet oak, good structure and balance; long finish. Juicy and rich, this Pinot drinks really well now and will benefit from some further age...92 points."

2007 McDougall Vineayrd Pinot Noir
"Medium ruby color; deep earthy cherry and anise aromas; deep, bit closed, earthy and dark cherry flavors, some spice, anise and forest floor notes; slight tannin; good structure and balance; long finish. Deep and rich, the earthy complexity in this Pinot is pretty attractive. Needs time to develop a bit more...92 points."

2007 Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir
"Medium ruby color; rich spicy red cherry aromas; ripe, rich, juicy red cherry flavors, spice and earthy notes, silky texture; good structure and balance; long finish. Bright, juicy Pinot that's just a delight to drink...93 points."

2007 Sanchietti Vineyard Pinot Noir
"Medium ruby color; deep, red cherry, spice and some clove aromas; rich, ripe, earthy spicy cherry flavors with clove and pepper notes; sikly texture, good structure and balance; long finish. Ripe and rich, I love the clove and earthy notes. Really good for an earthy pasta...91 points."

2007 Devil's Gulch Vineyard Pinot Noir
"Medium-deep ruby color; bit tight on nose with delicate cherry and herb aromas; deep, rich, red berry and cherry flavors with spice and some toasty oak; good structure and balance; long finish. Delightful berry flavor with some nice herb notes; needs time in the bottle and the glass to open up...90 points."

And from Restaurant Wine:

2007 Devil's Gulch Pinot Noir - 5 stars
2007 Freestone Hill Pinot Noir - 5 stars
2007 Sanchietti Pinot Noir - 5 stars
"These are exceptional Pinot Noirs, each one distinctive and refined in its own right. The Devil's Gulch is full bodied, crisp, and both intense and long on the palate, with cherry, plum, pomegranate, toast, clove, and rosehips aromas/flavors. Long aftertaste. Very fine quality. The Freestone Hill bottling is a complex, full bodied, crisp Pinot Noir, with rich flavors (blackberry, rosehips, pepper, blueberry, toast and spicy oak), and a very long finish. The Sanchietti is luscious and very ripe in style; a full bodied, rich Pinot Noir, with long flavor development on the palate, and a finish tasting of blackberry, black cherry, red currant, toast, nutmeg, and spicy oak."

2007 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay - 4 stars
2007 Rued Vineyard Chardonnay - 5 stars
"These are finely flavored Chardonnays. The Dutton Ranch is ful bodied, round, and both refined and complex in flavor (pineapple, peach, lemon peel, vanilla, roasted nut), with excellent balance and length. Fine value. The Rued version is exceptional: supple, full bodied, and restrained yet rich in character; a wine with peach, melon, lime, and orange blossom character, and overtones of roasted nut, vanilla, and spicy oak."

2007 Russian River Zinfandel - 5 stars
"Wow! A luscious, ripely flavored, full bodied Zin with excellent character and balance, and a long, harmonious finish, tasting of blackberry jam, cherry syrup, black pepper, and spicy oak. Exceptional."


Also in the news:

2006 Freestone Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir
"Fresh, ripe, black cherry nose; plush, supple, elegantly knit, black fruit and nutty oak flavors...4 stars."
~ Quarterly Review of Wines

2007 Rued Vineyard Chardonnay
"Round and creamy in the middle, light and crisp at the edges, this has fermentation notes of floral jasmine, rice and butter. It's cool and sleek, with a hint of herbal complexity in the end. For grilled pork chops with a sweet glaze...90 points and a Year's Best Chardonnay."
~ Wine & Spirits

2007 Freestone Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir
"...absolutely striking in focus and depth. It's careful structure, its keen fix on well-ripened cherries and its tantalizing glipmses of coming complexity make a wholly compelling case for a few years of very confident aging...93 points."
~ Connoisseur's Guide to California Wine

To read more reviews, visit our website.

We have shelf talkers available (6 to a sheet) on our website that you can download and print out.

Wine Terminology
From Pinot Forum materials.

Gold Ridge Soil: Gold Ridge, the dominant soil type in Green Valley, comes from the Wilson Grove Formation, a shallow sea deposit 3-5 million years old. It is a sandy clay loam, which provides excellent drainage. Its greatest value is the unique balance of mineral elements, which greatly enhances wine quality, especially in Pinot Noir.

Green Harvest: The practice of removing and discarding some of a vine's grape clusters before the end of the growing season. Green harvesting is done after cluster thinning and generally around veraison.

Green Valley: Green Valley AVA lies within the Russian River Valley at its coolest, foggiest, western edge. There is typically a relatively narrow temperature swing from the peak heat hours in the afternoon to the coolest wee hours of the morning. The AVA comprises a total of 19,000 acres, and includes over 100 growers.

Hang Time: The elapsed time from the second marker, or bloom, in the annual cycle of a grapevine to harvest.

Harvest: The fourth and final marker in the annual cycle of a grapevine.

Hydrometer: An instrument used to measure the amount of sugar in grape musts, based on the principle that a sugar solution has a higher density or specific gravity than water.

Alaska: Mountains & a Great Birthday Party!

Over the summer, Dan went to Alaska, primarily for a mountaineering venture with his son, but was also lucky enough to be in Anchorage for the 75th birthday celebration for our good friend, and broker, Hans Kruger. Happy Birthday, Hans, from all your friends at Dutton-Goldfield! Click here to read the whole story.