Vintage Update
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Vintage Update Archives
Every vintage in every region is different, with it's own unique challenges and opportunities. That's what makes each wine different and what fuels wine lovers' endless fascination and continuing curiosity. This archive collects winemaker Eric Miller's notes about past Chaddsford vintages and wines.
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March in the Vineyard and Cellar
March 1, 2008
Pruning in the Miller Estate Vineyard has been going a bit faster than planned. With so little snow this winter, and so few biting cold winds and low temperatures, we have been able to get into the vineyards and keep the crew unusually productive. This week I'm going to cut buds and check out the canes, cordons and trunks to see if we have any winter damage, but my feeling is that we are in good shape. The scary warm days of early winter have been followed by a slow enough drop in temperature to allow the vines to transfer moisture to their roots and not freeze the upper parts. Still....I'm not arguing with our vineyard manager Brett about doing a double pruning (that is, anticipating winter damage by leaving excess buds that will need to be removed later in the Spring).
The cellar is beginning to settle down after a couple of weeks of barrel work in preparation for the bottling of our 2006 reds. We just tasted every barrel of '06 Chambourcin, Cabernet and Merlot, assembled them, checked things out in the lab and bottled the best part of what cellarmaster Jim is calling "The Little Vintage That Could." (His reaction to what initially was a controversial vintage but became lean but ripe reds with real depth.) Having finished off the '06s, which you'll see about a year from now, we took on the '07s.
After retiring some older oak, we brought in a bunch of new small French and Hungarian barrels and filled them with the incredible 2007 vintage reds, retaining light lees. As we settled our young uns' into their oaken winter homes, we couldn't help the occasional twitch and frequent smile as we though "man, look at what we got." The cellar smells good and the memory of these beautiful '07 reds-to-come will keep our energies up as we now begin the bottling of the 2007 light whites. On the docket this month is the '07 Spring Wine (a mirror image of the '06 you all liked so much), to be followed in April with our first ever dry Rosé, both to be released with celebration in April (Spring Wine parties April 25 & 26) and May (Rosé Release Weekend May 17 & 18).
Cellar Report
1-28-08
Last fall you heard me raving about the '07 vintage as the one we will tell our children and grandchildren about. Now, at the end of January, it's colder than ice sticking your hands in a bucket of 2007 Cabernet, but somehow the anticipation of developing this great vintage seems to carry us all thru the hard days. Most of the whites, from the ebullient Spring Wine to the blossoming Naked Chardonnay, are in good shape. The more complex and concentrated Miller Estate Chardonnay is still holding out on us, not yet thru the malo-lactic fermentation that adds its creamy mineral signature...and making me a bit anxious.
But it's the reds that get to me. Last week, when we began tasting the Merlots and Cabernets to make blends, I was reminded again of the power and mouthfilling character we're seeing in these '07s. Even our Pinot Noir lots have a depth and breadth somewhat atypical for this region, fueled by a wealth of fine grainy tannins. In fact I am a bit surprised how "typical" the tannin levels are in Syrah and Barbera, that is, typically soft and low. The Syrah has all the black pepper and concentrated black raspberry you'd hope for, and the Barbera, slated for our oh-so-sexy Due Rossi, is driving me nuts with more than I could have dreamed of tasting or smelling.
 As you can see, I'm having trouble describing this unique vintage. Sometimes I seem to contradict my self when I say the reds are unusually clean and fruity for this time of year, while at the same time they seem to be a bit closed and holding something back. I remember saying about some of my favorite Burgundy vintages "they have an iron fist in a velvet glove" -- and I feel this is true of our '07s.
In the big picture, I am pleased to have hit my target goals for this great Cab vintage but there will be an unusually small bottling of some of the Portfolio selections, including the Miller Estate Pinot Noir and Chambourcin and the Seven Valleys Chambourcin. While you won't see these big reds and single vineyard lots till much later, you can taste them at the July barrel tastings when they are offered as futures. And the rest of this magnificent vintage will start rolling out in April at the annual Spring Wine Tastings.
There's much more to talk about but I'd rather do it in person with a glass in your hand.
Eric Miller, Winemaker
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