Vintage Update September 2005

September Vineyard Report
September 22, 2005
Eric Miller, Winemaker

Things are moving right along here! So far we have taken in all of the southeastern PA Vignoles (think next year's Spring Wine), and the last of the Chardonnay, from the famous Philip Roth Vineyard, will be here on Monday. Right now every bottle of Roth we have or have had is sold out (except for a few they are hoarding out in some of our retail locations), and there is none in the pipeline from 2002, 2003 or 2004....so this is mighty precious cargo. Tomorrow we receive a big shipment of Roth Pinot Noir -- looks like we'll be bursting with it. Also very good news since we don't have many of those either.

Today we did most of the Niagara...you could call it a flood of Louisiana proportions! Tomorrow we will bring in the last of the Seyval Blanc (used for Proprietors Reserve White), and Merlot is scheduled to come in next week, along with our first Shiraz/Syrah.

It's hard to absorb it all while it's happening so quickly, but the two things that stand out now are that the whites have an almost honey like texture and the Pinot Noir is bursting with fruit flavors we have not experienced for a couple of years. Frankly we have so much Pinot Noir this year that we expect to not only make a wonderful Miller Estate lot but also a "Barrel Select" bottling AND a regular PA appellation Pinot. All really good. The Miller Estate lot is sweet and raisiny with great color and fine smooth tannins, even now, during coal soak and fermentation.

Simply put, this season has been superb so far. We went from a modest crop and very invigorated vines early spring to a semblance of control over the summer. Then things got dry and vines began to focus on their progeny, our beloved grapes. Of course we do not have irrigation...or I might have turned it on...so we had to watch the vines suffer a bit. As leaves began to wilt all the energy went into the fruit. This last month of perfect warm sunny dry days and cool dry nights (which allowed for extended hang-time) is translating into intense flavors, good color and perfectly clean fruit for the early varieties.

Now the mid-season is coming on. As we look to the Syrah and Merlot for next week we are holding our breaths to ward off any major rain. As for the Cab, Petite Verdot, Sangiovese and Barbera, they are hanging like they don't need the money. Sun side grapes are beginning to raisin. There is no rot. Color is deep. We are now past the grassy green young flavors. When it comes down to Merican and the big boys, we will push the envelope as far as we can and let them hang until we can make the wines we always knew we could do. No, 2005 will not be an early harvest!

Cellar Report on the 2004/2003 Vintage Wines

Early '04 Stuff: Since it's just about gone, I won't make a big deal about the '04 Spring Wine except to say it was the best vintage in 24 years. The '04 Blush continues to amaze me with it "fruit cocktail" of forward fruit, clean acidity and just enough sweetness to balance zesty Mexican and Thai foods. And what can I say about the '04 Pinot Grigio...except that we truly hope to have more of it for you in '05, with a combined PA/NY appellation.

Naked Chardonnay: The next most exciting thing about the ’04 vintage has been taking a new look at old friends. Faced with declining Chardonnay sales, I am departing from the big-oak, earthy, malo-lactic norm of the past 10-15 years in favor of a small lot (in a completely different style) that will be lean, green, clean, unoaked, and bottled fresh like a crisp Chablis. This Naked Chardonnay, not unlike a Pinot Grigio but with more fruit, should be ready at the end of summer. Keep your eyes out for the release, while I keep my nose and tongue on the still developing Chards of Barrel Select and Miller Estate fame.

The '04 Reds: Perhaps the biggest news is in the reds. We have decided to delay bottling the single vineyard '04 Chambourcins and age both in new Pennsylvania barrels. The Miller Estate Pinot Noir and Merlot are being aged in small French and Hungarian oak and will likely be held until winter as we are finding that enhances fruit and structure; but we taste them frequently enough to change that plan if something indicates we should bottle earlier. At the top of my "excitement" scale are the '04 Due Rossi (small Sangiovese/Barbera lot) and Rubino (our first Super Tuscan Cabernet/Sangiovese blend) that are showing this waspy winemaker's dark and exotic Italian roots. The Due Rossi was mostly sold out at July's Futures Tasting, but look for the Rubino around Christmas.

R&D Projects: Part of the fun in the cellar is trial work to find our what best brings out the natural fruit and regional character in our wines. Currently we are working on some R&D projects aimed at better understanding nutrition, needs of the new "designer" yeasts, and continued work with the Malo-lacteric bacteria. The Miller Estate Chardonnay '04 is a product of an incredible team effort you won't want to miss.

'03s and Older: If you check our shelves, you will find the '03 Merlot is out. I'd say it's a bit lighter than the '02 but has plenty of characteristic jammy fruit compote, a bit of sweet French vanilla from its oak aging, none of that nasty herbal stuff, and smooth drinkable tannins. Sadly we are already running out of the '03 Pinot Noir but we still have the '02 Barrel select Pinot, just now coming into its prime. (FYI, tasted the '01 about a month ago and it was very similar, in case you have some in your cellar and are wondering whether or not you should drink it); smells of wilted flowers, hints of cooked cherry and brown sugar, medium body and just enough acidity to keep things from getting boring.

You can find tasting notes on quite a few other wines on our web site, and if you have interest in any others, old or new, you can always email me for an opinion...tho' I may be a bit slow as harvest cranks up.

Oh gawd, not the "H" word already!

Eric Miller, Winemaker