Why doesn’t a particular wine, from the same
varietal, grown in the same vineyard, produced from
the same vintner, taste consistently the same, year
after year? There could be any number of factors to
challenge this question, yet climate and human
intervention are the usual suspects.
First of all, let's examine a few of the climate
indicators.
Wind, rain, frost, and sunshine are but a few of the
many elements that determine a grapes fate in the
vineyard. Spring rains prior to flowering and bud break
are essential in jump starting a grapes birth. Too
much rainfall during the growing season results in
plump fat grapes, excessive clusters, and an overall
decrease in flavor quality. Rain during harvest is
nothing short of a disaster, a vintners worst
nightmare, often resulting in weak flavors and a
thinner crop.
Frost may impede a grapes potential either early or
late in its development. In Spring, a frost could kill a
buds chance to flower, resulting in a limited or thinner
crop overall. An Autumn frost may hamper a grapes
potential to fully ripen, showing tart flavors and
damaged or dead grape clusters.
Sunshine is any plants best friend. The more, the
better. Too many cloudy days and lack of sun during
the growing season will substantially effect the final
outcome in a grapes flavor. Overall temperature and
swings in daily degrees, both during the day and at
night, have a profound effect on balance in the
vineyard. All these components, plus wind, soil, and
natures complicated nuances, all play an intricate
role in the life and quality of a grapevine
Once nature's role in the vineyard is complete, it is
now left to the skills and talents of the winemaker to
take control. Cluster selection, method of crushing
the grapes, style and length of fermentation, type of
barrels, blending, and numerous methods of
manipulation he chooses to impose during his final
process, all this and more determine what the vintner
eventually transfers into the bottle.
Once released to the public, it is left up to us, the
consumer, to render judgment as to a wines ultimate
status. We taste, we analyze, we give it thumbs up
or thumbs down. It is at this point where knowledge
becomes key to your tasting success.
Which brings us back to the original question about a
wine tasting consistent from vintage to vintage. We
looked at but a few of the factors, but going one
step further, lets examine the role of the consumer.
Everyone has their favorite wines they often
gravitate to when making their selections. They
recognize the bottle by its producer, by its label, or
even by the style or shape of the bottle. But one
mistake often made is that they do not take the time
to stop and analyze the full contents of the label.
This often leads to an incorrect purchase, resulting in
a wine that may taste different, unpleasant, or
unfamiliar. Never hesitate to ask one of our wine
professionals here at Champane’s if you ever seem
unsure prior to your purchase.
An error in judgment may occur because the vintage
date may have changed, say a 2002 instead of the
2001 you have become accustomed to drinking. The
difference in taste could also occur from a change in
the final blending in this year’s product by the
winemaker. Still also, it could be the fact that the
winemaker at the winery has changed since last
vintage. New winemaker, new style, new taste.
The winery could have several “Single Vineyard”
designated wines they released to the marketplace.
Many producers elect to release several different
bottling of the same varietal. Take for instance
Rosenblum Cellars, who’s output may include up to 21
different bottling of Zinfandel. Same grape, different
vineyards, a myriad of taste contrasts from bottle to
bottle.
Which brings us back to my Cellar Tip theme for this
month, changes in taste of a particular varietal from
vintage to vintage. To experience this directive first
hand, I recently hosted a vertical tasting (same
varietal / same producer / different vintage) with
other members of our Champane’s tasting panel.
Chosen for this tasting were 5 separate vintages of
the highly collectable Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon,
years 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002.
