California Vintage 2011
This was an awkward vintage in which a cool wet spring became a cooler than average summer. To compound matters there was October rain in Sonoma and Napa which threatened rot and encouraged better growers to take care with the vines and to select carefully while picking. Further south the unsettled weather and early frost hindered fruit set and lowered yields, which actually helped to ripen the remaining fruit in a difficult season. For those who were prepared to gamble on better weather later on in the season, the gamble paid off and slowly ripened fruit was harvested. For some drinkers, the lighter, less alcoholic wines of 2011, made often from grapes that were lower in sugar than is usually the case, will appeal for their freshness and fruit character. If nothing else, these less concentrated wines are a true expression of the vintage.