2004 Willamette Valley / Oregon Vintage
A short crop, heat waves in July and August, then rain that stopped harvest in its tracks and, in Rollin Soles's word, turned out to be a godsend.
Wine Spectator records late winter and early spring 2004 as exceptionally cool and dry, which held crop size down, and heat waves arriving in July and August. Growing season heat was high overall but the Degree Day total of 2404 in McMinnville came in below 2003's 2535. Sugar levels were peaking in late summer and harvest looked imminent, then cool, wet weather in late August and again in mid September postponed it and harvest proceeded in fits and starts. About three inches of rain fell in the Willamette Valley. Yields were down 10 to 60 percent. Argyle winemaker Rollin Soles told Wine Spectator the delay was a godsend that let him get better acids and fruit flavors, and described the wines as crisp and pretty in a classic Oregon style. Wine Spectator graded the Oregon vintage B+.
Growing season
2004 was decided early and then decided again late. Wine Spectator records an exceptionally cool and dry late winter and early spring, conditions that held crop size down before the season had properly started. The Willamette Valley Wineries Association attributes the resulting short crop to poor weather at set, the extreme temperatures of the prior vintage, and irregularities in vineyard growth. Wine Spectator puts numbers on it: yields down 10 percent to 60 percent in the Willamette Valley. Summer turned the other way, with heat waves arriving in July and August. Even so the season's overall heat did not match the year before it, with a Degree Day total of 2404 in McMinnville against 2535 in 2003. By late summer grape sugars were peaking and harvest looked imminent. Then the weather changed the plan. Rains came in late August and again in mid September, ahead of most vineyards' final ripening phase, totalling about three inches across the Willamette Valley, with southern Oregon receiving less. Harvest was postponed and then proceeded in fits and starts, picked in whatever windows the weather allowed. For Argyle winemaker Rollin Soles, the interruption was the making of the year. He told Wine Spectator it turned out to be a godsend because it let him delay harvest and get better acids and fruit flavors.
- Exceptionally cool and dry late winter and early spring held crop size down, per Wine Spectator
- The short crop came from poor weather at set, the prior vintage's extreme temperatures and vineyard growth irregularities, per WVWA
- Yields fell 10 percent to 60 percent in the Willamette Valley
- Heat waves arrived in July and August, but the Degree Day total of 2404 in McMinnville trailed 2003's 2535
- Rain in late August and again in mid September totalled about three inches in the valley, with southern Oregon getting less
- Harvest was postponed by the wet weather and then ran in fits and starts
- Rollin Soles of Argyle called the delay a godsend for acids and fruit flavors
- Wine Spectator records late winter and early spring as exceptionally cool and dry, which kept crop size down
- Heat waves arrived in July and August, though the season's Degree Day total of 2404 in McMinnville was below 2003's 2535
- Rains came in late August and again in mid September, before most vineyards' final ripening phase, totalling about three inches in the Willamette Valley
- Harvest was postponed by the cool, wet weather and proceeded in fits and starts
- Yields were down 10 percent to 60 percent in the Willamette Valley
- Argyle winemaker Rollin Soles called the delay a godsend that let him get better acids and fruit flavors, describing the wines as crisp and pretty in a classic Oregon style
- Wine Spectator graded the 2004 Oregon vintage B+
Style and character
The heat of the growing season showed up in the glass as weight without excess. The Willamette Valley Wineries Association describes the wines as properly plump and extracted but with restraint, and notes average Brix came in 1 percent down. Its framing places 2004 as almost an average of 2001, 2002 and 2003, with more variability among the reds and whites that came out more structured and brighter, closer in character to 2002. Rollin Soles's read from the cellar was crisp and pretty in a classic Oregon style. Wine Spectator found the Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs showing bright black raspberry fruit and the Chardonnays offering pear and mineral qualities, and graded the Oregon vintage B+.
- Wines were properly plump and extracted but with restraint, with average Brix down 1 percent
- WVWA frames 2004 as almost an average of 2001, 2002 and 2003, with more variability in the reds
- Whites came out more structured and brighter, similar in character to 2002
- Wine Spectator found bright black raspberry fruit in the Pinot Noirs and pear and mineral qualities in the Chardonnays, and graded the vintage B+
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See it in the WineShop- An exceptionally cool and dry late winter and early spring held 2004 crop size down, and yields finished 10 to 60 percent below normal in the Willamette Valley.
- Heat waves came in July and August, but the season's Degree Day total of 2404 in McMinnville trailed 2003's 2535.
- Rain in late August and again in mid September totalled about three inches, postponing harvest and forcing it to proceed in fits and starts.
- Argyle's Rollin Soles called the delay a godsend for acids and fruit flavors and described the wines as crisp and pretty in a classic Oregon style.
- The wines came out properly plump and extracted but restrained, with average Brix down 1 percent, and Wine Spectator graded the vintage B+.
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